Big News for Writing Refinery!

Last week on DIY MFA Radio, my friend Gabriela Pereira and I announced a new joint venture. We're going to put out an anthology! It's called the Writer Igniter Anthology, and it needs YOUR VOICE to make it amazing. You can listen to the podcast episode where we announce it here.

The special thing about this anthology is that each submission has to use a writing prompt generated by the Writer Igniter App. That means you have to stretch that creative muscle extra hard. I can't wait to hear what new stories come out of this project.

So come check it out! Submissions are OPEN. We're looking for new voices and creative ideas. Come! Write! Take a chance with us and get your name in print. We wanna read your best creative stories. So write, write, write! And then submit, submit, submit!

It's Writing Prompt Friday!

I'm starting a new event on the Writing Refinery Facebook Page today: Writing Prompt Friday!

I'll cross-post here, too, so that everyone can participate. The idea is, look at the prompt, and write 1000 words or less, just a short piece, that incorporates the prompt. You can post a link to your piece in the comments and I'll make sure to come give you some encouraging feedback!

Here's today's prompt:

Pro tip: Nodding and Shaking Your Head

I've run across the incorrect descriptions of these two actions far too many times for it to be coincidental anymore, so today let's define them.

The action that can be described in the above photo is nodding. Dear 10th Doctor David Tennant is nodding his head in response to something that was said to him. Nodding, the up-and-down motion of the head, is used to indicate affirmation, a positive response, a yes in body language.

In THIS photo, DT is moving his head from side to side, or shaking his head. This motion indicates denial, a negative response, or no in body language.

This is basic body language 101. If you write that your character shakes his head yes to something... that's incorrect. He NODS his head for yes and SHAKES his head for no.

Creation is messy

If there's anything being an artist will teach you, it's that you've got to make a mess in order to create. The same is true with writing your novel. It's no less a piece of art in progress than a painting. Sometimes in order to get to the heart of your story you have to write yourself into a corner you aren't sure you'll be able to get out of... this is the novelist's version of a "mess". Then give yourself and your characters a chance to figure out how to get out of the mess you're in. Some of your most creative work can come out of this mess, out of this not knowing what comes next, out of this paint splatter that you didn't intend.

Let go of your need to control every single moment and see what happens with your writing. You may surprise yourself.

mess of life by jesus miguel rosado perdomo

Try something new

In the search for inspiration, the best thing you can do is to keep trying new things.

Read something in a different genre than you usually do.

Go to an art museum.

Write in a different place.

Take a modern dance class.

Do something that makes you consider your world, the world, differently than you would normally. Do something that makes you ask questions. Look at art that makes you uncomfortable and then ask yourself why it makes you uncomfortable. Ask yourself why a lot.

Live in a state of constant questioning and keep blurting out answers until you find one that sticks... until you find one you can't get out of your mind, then follow it and see where it leads you.

Review: What To Do When It's Your Turn

What To Do When It's Your Turn by Seth Godin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I participated in the Your Turn Challenge, a week-long daily blogging challenge, last week before I read What To Do When It's Your Turn(and it's always your turn). Whether or not Seth intended it, the conclusions I came to in answer to or response to the prompts and questions asked of us during the challenge are straight out of this book.

Mr. Seth Godin, I think you may have written this book for me. Here are a few of the lines that spoke directly to my psyche, my heart, my self:

"Liberate yourself from the need to be right.

Not everything has to be okay.

Change hurts. Do it anyway.

Embrace the fear of freedom, deciding to determine your own path, this is the work of a grownup, of someone who can identify what truly matters.

Do what you should do. Your mood will follow."

It's hard to tell if this is a self-help book, a business development book, or something completely new.

Whatever it is, it spoke to me in ways I needed to hear today. So thank you for that, Mr. Godin.



View all my reviews

Your Turn Challenge - Day 7 - What goes with you

Day 7: What are you taking with you from this Challenge?

What I'm taking from the Your Turn Challenge is that ... nothing is ever easy. Even if it's something that you know in your heart of hearts that you want... getting to it will have its challenges. You have to commit to the goal, and make sacrifices. You have to do the hard thing, which means taking time away from all the other distractions that life has to offer, in order to do what needs to be done to reach your goal.

There's no such thing as "if I had time..." because, really, if it's important you will make time. You will prioritize and find the time and space you need to write those words, edit those pages, review the critique you received...

It's not easy, no. But it's worth it. Seeing your dreams fulfilled, honing the muscle, the skill you need to take you to the next level... it's worth the time, worth the pain... it's worth it.

How about you? What are you doing today to reach your noveling goals? Writing prompts? 15 minutes a day? Changing your reading list?