My writer’s notebook is ‘pulchritudinous.’ Wait. What? I just found out that this is another word for ‘beautiful’ and just had to squeeze it in somewhere. Who would’ve known there was such an ugly word for something so pretty? Anyway, I digress. This post is all about what I put in my notebook, not any…
Category: Writing Life
How to Be a Better Creative Writing Student
Note: this post is written for ALL creative writers dedicated to self-improvement, even if not an enrolled student. Unlike many of the ideas I get for posts, this one wasn’t a sudden inspiration. On three separate occasions: while looking over my textbooks, during a workshop and then in the discount aisle of a supermarket; I…
10 Fine Websites for Writing Tips
As creative writers, we’re well acquainted with the more familiar websites for writing tips, from Writer’s Digest to Write to Done. There are however, hundreds of other websites offering equally good advice, many of which (in my opinion) offer more original insights than the top dogs. Here are ten of my current favourites to share!:…
How to Create a Homegrown Writing Retreat
Let’s face it; our lives are busier than ever and sometimes our writing productivity and goals fall by the wayside. Writing retreats are a fabulous way to rediscover the trail, but are often expensive and require travel. Yet what if there was a way to create the same experience in our own backyard; expending less…
Fiction Writers: Expectation vs. Reality
After watching some expectation vs. reality style videos on YouTube, I was mightily inspired to write something similar about fiction writers in general: 6am: A Pact to Wake up and Write Early Expectation: What a beautiful day! I’m inspired to write jewel-like prose almost immediately on a stolen napkin! (I’m a creative, thank you, not…
5 Benefits of Writing Stories to Learn a Language
“To have another language is to possess a second soul”- Charlemagne After years of boring classes at school, the French bug bit me and its irresistible poison has remained in my veins ever since. As an adult I suddenly discovered how much I loved the process of learning a language; everything from buying a new…
What’s My (Writing) Style Again?
I think the master storyteller was right when he said: ‘If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot’—Stephen King King was referring here to the craft of writing; our use of language and the way in which each book we read…
5 Ways I Took Time out from Writing
‘Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop’-Ovid This weekend I had brain frazzle. I’d written so much over the past week that I wouldn’t have been able to write a shopping list if you’d asked me nicely. It’s easy to think we’re being productive by constantly producing. It’s easy to fill…
Aromatherapy for Writers
‘Smell is a word, perfume is literature’-Jean-Claude Ellena *Note: this article deals specifically with the use of essential oils in a diffuser or burner. If you are planning to use them in a different way, please take all precautions before use. Essential oils can be harmful and should be used with care. The word ‘Aromatherapy’…
Letting Go as a Writer
‘I didn’t realise perfection could be so messy!’ As a mature student and aspiring fiction writer my biggest struggle thus far has been overcoming perfectionism; something which until a few months ago was running the entire show—even selling the ice creams! Practising writing without rigorous editing and in my case, the temptation to overwrite is…