Focus On: Fiction and Poetry Blogs
Did you know literature was an Olympic event until 1948? Of course, all creative submissions had to reference athletics in some way, and many think the quality of the work suffered as a result. That’s why blogging is such a great way to develop and showcase your creative writing – there are no restrictions or limitations beyond your own imagination!
If you primarily write fiction or poetry, or if you’d just like to try your hand at a poem or story, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Focus. Sheer invention can be tough, and Facebook beckons just over on the other tab. Try minimizing distractions while you’re working. Hang a ‘do not disturb’ sign on your door, turn on some classical music (or put in earplugs), and give the Distraction Free Writing mode a try.
- Format. When posting poems on your blog, getting the spacing right can be tricky. But there’s no need to sacrifice your perfect formatting to the HTML gods. This article has some tips to help you format your poems exactly as you envision them – whether you’re writing haiku or concrete poetry, or whether you just want some extra breathing room between your stanzas.
- Add visuals. While stories and poems are all about the text, a well-chosen image can add visual interest and color to your posts. Many creative writers also dabble in drawing or painting, so if you have original work to share, go for it! If your work was inspired by a video, photograph, or song, add it to your post. Or go the other way and make your writing the focus with a clean, minimalist theme.
- Participate. Perhaps fleeing to a cabin in the woods was the traditional way to finish a novel, but these days participating in a group writing challenge online might be more effective – and more fun. For some motivation, check out sites like Nanowrimo.org, storyaday.org, or NPR’s current revival of the Olympic poetry tradition.
- Imitate. The best way to improve as a writer is to read and imitate excellent writing. If you’re blocked, nearly every literary magazine these days has web content. There are some fantastic lit mags on WordPress.com, and you can also browse the poetry and fiction Topic pages for writing inspiration.
Are you a novelist or a poet, or do you aspire to be? What tips do you have for how best to feature creative writing on a blog?
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I feel that being original is a very important factor, be it any kind of blog for that matter. We can imitate the style of some other bloggers, however that personal touch can only be added by being original, by projecting what it is that you think and message it is that you want to convey from your blog.
Great point! You can glean inspiration from others’ work, but ultimately, you should strive to develop your own, unique voice.
AMEN!
So true! Theres too many people trying to be like other writers, but sometimes your best writer is the one you let out with no reservations.
Blogging is one of the unique ways that people with talent who are not recognised can get thair work out in the open.An amazing thing really. It is shocking how my support you can get from strangers from across the world….. when there is non from the people closest to you
I am so happy to have my voice back
Right on! I was urged by some of my dearest and nearest to have my blog started, only to find that they would not actually follow my postings consistently. Anyway, the experience of sharing is awesome, and that is what most writing is for, isn’t it?
You can visit http://www.avadapalabra.wordpress.com by the way -prose and something like poems in English and Spanish. Comments, insights, shares, etc. welcome
Isn’t it great how blogging allows you to find your own audience?
I found out that those closest do not always support writers…Blogging has opened doors for me by allowing me to connect and share with other authors. We learn from each other.
I completely agree! Blogging allows complete freedom of speech.
Elizabeth, Love the info you are supplying. I am a published author of a childrens fiction book that doubles as an ESL text. I am also published for poetry and journalistic articles, but my next step is to publish a second book using the same characters from my first (a series) and to publish my poetry into its own or my own collection. Any input would be greatly appreciated as I am far from a professional writer eventhough my BA is in English Professional and academic writing. Thanks, J E Wilson (Jeff)
Sounds pretty professional to me!
Good luck with your book! Blogs are a great way to market a book. There are some good tips here.
This is useful information, thanks.
It’s always interesting to look at the blogging world from a slightly different perspective. Makes me think I need to add more creative writing to my blog to give people a taste of the style, rather than just talking about my fiction and why I write.
Great! Thank you again,
Amaya Ellman
Definitely! Let’s just leave it to the others to comment on our work; it is up to us unpublished writers to share
Cheers!
I’m the same – I often write about writing, but rarely share my own writing. Not sure why.
I found what works for me is to have my actual writing in one blog and writing about writing in another. I am completely new to the arena and have to push myself to make sure I write something every day with the blogging. When I was writing in an unpublished form, it was easier to write (no audience) but harder to write (no expectation). With a blog I know I have to be more disciplined…some nights I get to bed rather late as a consequence!
I use poetry in my blog enjoyingthebible.wordpress.com to lay the basis of what I want to talk about. I use a few lines of my poetry as reference and then I write ideas to think about.
Ah, so you use some poetry for inspiration for other writing! Excellent.
I write fiction in partnership with anime series reviews, so my inspiration usually comes from a series (or my dreams). It’s best that when writing chapter-long fiction stories that the writer has made a map noting the sequence of KEY events.
Wow, unique. I like anime series…
Q: “What tips do you have for how best to feature creative writing on a blog?”
I go for the heart of a piece, 500-800 words cut from the middle. Jump right into the most dramatic or comic scene. Blog readers won’t sit still for long narratives or description.
Agree. Cutting to the chase is always important, but especially when writing online.
Reblogged this on Kathryn B. Johnson and commented:
Loved this wonderful post on literature as an Olympic event! Read on!
Really, so I could have been wearing a silly or amazing outfit in several years… Anyways this tips are definitely helpful especially for a beginner like me. Thanks for sharing!
Be spontaneous, let the story or poem flow without minding the spelling and such, the’ll be time for editing later.
Make the story/poem relatable to your audience; let it resonate with your readers.
Use your audience’s language, obviously
…
Thanks for the tips! I love writing both fiction and poetry, though I haven’t displayed much of it on the blogosphere yet…
Oh but you should! Taking the first step can be fearsome, but it is worth the leap!
Dive in! The blogosphere is a great place to showcase your work. On my blog I place snippets from my poetry and fiction that I think will resonate with my audience.
Thank you so much for featuring Creative Writing Blogs in The Daily Post. I write poetry and short fiction and also teach writing in schools and community settings. I blog about the writing process; what inspired me to write a poem or story and I share details of my writing workshops so that others can use my materials and ideas in their writing work. I do struggle with presenting my work effectively, especially poems, and, after reading this article I’m thinking of starting a second, purely poetry blog using Manifest. I wonder if I’d be able to put a permanent link to it, for instance in a drop-down menu?
Absolutely! You can create a menu navigation tab for a custom link with the custom menu feature.
I think maintaining a separate blog featuring some of your creative work that you can then reference in your primary blog on writing techniques is a terrific idea!
Thank you for your reply Elizabeth! I’ve already started a new poetry blog (www.andotherpoems.wordpress.com) so I’ll have a go at linking it to my primary blog. Very best wishes to you.
I am really excited to get involved with this site. My main focus is to have to opprotunity to express myself through spoken word and I hope to encourage others as well. These tips are very helpful to me and I strive to establish quality content and build strong relationships with like-minded people
Ooh, spoken word! Very cool.
The best thing a fiction writer can do on a site like WordPress is to use the accessibility of poetry and other forms of fiction to discover other writers’ works. You grow from writing a lot, but you also grow from reading and discovering other people’s works; critiquing and interpreting them. Establish connections and communicate frequently with other writers. Collaborate. Don’t just tell and don’t just show — “involve” your readers.
Yes, these are great tips!
Right on, Rigel
Reblogged this on Bishop the Reviewer and commented:
Great little post for the WordPress author. Glad The Daily Post did this.
Reblogged this on Sound Check 2 My Life and commented:
Express yourself
The visual aspect, weaving in photos, drawings, etc., is something we’re still working on for our site, The Haberdasher, but it’s definitely an important element to mix in. Plus, some of the most interesting new works are inspired by the interplay of text and image.
For those interested in creative writing and conversing with other writers, please drop by and visit The Haberdasher (http://lehab.org) — built on WordPress, of course. It’s a site by writers for writers that features author interviews, critical reviews, writing tips, and literary conversations. Feel free to drop by from time to time and comment on our recent posts, or contact us to contribute a review or commentary of your own.
We’re also accepting work for our companion literary journal, Floodplane: http://lehab.org/submissions/creative-journal/.
Happy Writing!
My blog is food-themed, but I’ve added “Writing” as a page category where I include links to my posts that are more writerly.
I love writing. And your writing is really important for us. Thanks. Warmest regard from Aceh, Indonesia. >> @arbisyach
Writing a series of stories or chapters (like posting a new chapter of a novel you’re writing each week or such) can be a great way to get critique and motivation! When I posted chapters up, I felt a need to update every other day to satisfy fans.
Absolutely! Serialization. Love it!
While I post information about my books – and often jump in on blogfests, where I post an excerpt from one of my novels, usually targeted to a different theme, my blog is primarily for me to connect with other writers and with readers, and to show the whole me, not just the writer-me. Occasionally, I discuss my writing process, but I like to show people a more well-rounded version of me than just the writer aspect.
I also have a private blog for my beta-readers, where I post chapters as I get them done and they can leave their feedback. This works very well.
Great idea, the beta-reading! If only I could force myself to writing consistently beyond the short story or “chaptered tale” as I call some of the stuff I write.
I haven’t been so great at writing consistently lately, either!
This is also a great idea for anyone hesitant about putting their work out there: create a private blog and share your work only with your trusted readers first.
Ha! I’ve had more feedback from total strangers than from most of the people I know…maybe I just don’t know the right people?
Awesome idea!
Reblogged this on cedwicks and commented:
Do you write?…Whats your focus!?!?
My poetry focuses on inspirations from my spiritual background but totally relatable to anyone. My fiction, however is more urban fantasy with a focus on everyday people between the ages of 18-30…so far.
It is pretty difficult though. Sometimes I just look at my works and I want to delete them from the face of the Earth!
Oof, I know the feeling!
Maybe you could write something about this too?
This post helped a lot. I am hoping to lose my inhibitions in sharing my seemingly works to other people.
I have had several good ideas to write on toilet walls lately but didn’t have a pencil with me.
You’d need a Sharpie, really.
i’m new to blogging and i love writing my “mostly” true stories but i feel like my real genre is in short stories and essays, do you think blogging is the right medium for me? i’m struggling to keep my posts under 1,000 words. i have a few that are well over.
Actually, long-form essays and articles have been experiencing a real resurgence in popularity lately – even online!
Reblogged this on strutdogg.
For the past two years I’ve been hosting in my Literary blog a Poetry event called Poesý, this year on August will be our third. Is both in English and Spanish and it has been amazing. Beside writing stories and about writing, I like to reblog WordPress blogs about literature to share with my readers. And everytime I write I need to add a photo or a drawing to accompany it, to add, as you said, a visual interest to it.
I like the tip to imitate. In his book Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon dispels the myth an artist has to create from nothing. For me, creating from nothing is counterproductive. Instead, I try to immerse myself in my influences.
Yes! I love Austin Kleon, too – he’s a great source of blogging inspiration.
And I absolutely love his new Newspaper Blackout series
I love the diversity of writing bloggers present, and you can quickly tell when a writer/blogger has spent time thinking about their posts, and develop their writing. Great article!
Reblogged this on jaimesartphotoshop and commented:
It’s A Backless Dress Battle: Kim Kardashian V. Jennifer Lopez & More In the Hollywood life.
Just a personal insight on my experience with Publicize. I try hard to come up with attention-grabbing titles for my poems (and I’ve actually been successful a number of times), but it’s still hard to make my friends and subscribers on Facebook click them straight from Publicize. What works more for me is to turn off Publicize when posting a new entry, then after publishing a post, I click Share on Facebook, and this enables me to write a more flexible teaser sentence on top of the link as an added enticement for my Facebook friends and subscribers to click it.
For example, my most recent poem called The Fine Print of Ever After was inspired by what could have happened between Cinderella and Prince Charming after they got married. So on top of that link after the Share, I wrote something like, “After the wedding, Cinderella must have taken months before finally resisting the urge to clean the castle everyday. I bet Prince Charming was very frustrated.”
From experience, the simple Publicize only causes about 5 people to click (I have about 2,000 combined friends and subscribers), but a Share with a good teaser sentence over it has given me up to 155 clicks and a dozen comments, bumping the post on other people’s Newsfeeds, making it more visible and enticing more people to click, and so on. (The teaser sentence becomes a springboard for discussion as well.)
Just my two cents.
Hopefully WordPress creates or updates a feature to accommodate this, someday.
Thanks for your feedback on Publicize! Try entering your custom teaser sentence in the Excerpts module. Then, Facebook will use that sentence with the link when you Publicize your posts.
Ooh! I didn’t know this! Glad I mentioned it. Thanks!
…a part of the olympics…. makes such sense !!!
A large amount of my posts are poetry, but the rest are miscellaneous randomness that almost always contains a picture. I’ve found that the poems stand out nice against the brightness of the posts with pictures. It’s kind of refreshing to see a block of text with plenty of whitespace after all the other posts. I like your suggestion in Participate about getting a challenge for motivation. I’ve been writing a book for years now and haven’t really gotten any farther than a few chapters. Will definitely try those out! Thanks!
I love having an accessible platform for my writing. And keeping to a regular posting schedule helps me get in the habit of creating regularly. There’s links to descriptions of my current projects and I’ll occasionally post excerpts as well as entries in writing-related blog hops that I participate in.
Innovate or dance with the dust.
Reblogged this on quick2hosts.
Thank you. I understand about visuals in general, but sometimes it’s good to allow the words of a poem to create the pictures in the minds of readers. It’s interesting to present poems in different ways, and learn from the kind feedback. Best wishes, Ellen
ههع
Reblogged this on melissawebster9916.
One thing I urge readers to do is GIVE FEEDBACK. Most writers are craving constructive criticism and ways to improve and satisfy their audience. And communication makes us feel like we’re not just throwing our words to the heavens, never to be seen again.
Yes, yes, yes!
YES!
A) Write about something you know.
B) Don’t write about yourself, your family, your job, your home life and your pets unless your life is really novel material.
C) Spell check, grammar check, punctuation check. Repeat. Reread before posting.
D) Think about what to leave out as much as what to leave in.
E) A blog that says “I blog to write. I’m practicing my writing. See me writing in my blog? Please like my writing in my blog about me talking about blogging about writing” is really not writing, it’s blogging about yourself [not] writing anything.
F) Don’t be afraid of criticism. Steven King’s novel Christine was rejected something like 53 times before being published. Jimmy Buffet refused to change his lyrics in a song about his grandfather to get his first recording deal, and wrote “Making Music for Money” in response.
(“The Captain and the Kid” was recorded in its original form!)
G) Have fun and laugh off the critics. (Unless you’re writing for a paycheck!)
H) Don’t let your creativity be dependent on “external validation”. It’s easy to get caught up in the self-serving and heady war of “likes & followers”. It’s about you composing your material the way you imagine it to be.
I) Stick with it. Most of us write “for ourselves”, it is a spark of creativity. Whether you become a Pulitzer winner or everyone you know tells you “Stop writing things. You stink.”, keep at it.
J) Don’t take anything too seriously. It’s only life, after all.
Take care and keep in touch,
Pazlo
Like your attitude!
All writing is in some way creative, so one should attempt to speak one’s mind without being over-influenced by the styles of others. Also remember that there are major differences between literary genres (poetry, drama, novels, short stories etc.) and writing is inevitably modified to fit each one. Punctuation is also really important, because even on the internet it is extremely significant.
I writer roleplaying game material, and the handy thing about my blog is it lets me use some of the spare bitrs and pieces that fall out of any piece of non-fiction during the editing process. In the old days I’d have prepared them as magazine articles, but instead I can put them up as little bonus pieces for my readers.
The only unhandy thing? My blog often lies fallow for long strecthes of time, when I’ve overcommitted to various publishers and every spare moment is going into my drafting. I find it very hard to commit to a blogging schedule.
Don’t you hate it when you make spelling mistakes after saying you write? 8)
What I wish is that I had some tips on how to find one’s audience. I’ve found that many people avoid fiction and poetry on blogs, but it’s what I do best and the work I prefer. It’s hard for a writer, who wants to keep getting better and would love feedback, to get past the desire folks have for a certain kind of shorter, lighter, snarky slice-of-life sort of blog post that I can’t produce quite as regularly as I’d like.
This summer has been awful in terms of eyes on my writing (stats) so I’ve decided to write a sci-fi/love story serial and do the best I can, just because.
When I kept up with the Freshly Pressed page, I don’t remember seeing any fiction on it. I wonder why that is? No really — I’ve got a few writer friends using WordPress who have mad, literary writing skills. I’d love to see one of them on that page. They deserve many more eyes on their work.
Zeus bless thee, Spark In Shadow! for several reasons. Chiefly for advocating the recognition of literary blogs as something as deserving as “cool pix contests” or glossy, colourful, cool-looking blogs (I shudder to think I should “include catchy images, interesting quotes” sort of stuff as it is actually advised “to get Freshly Pressed).
Further, I oh so second you on your view of quality v. prolificity (does that word even exist?).
I, for that matter, keep in my boots and will die with them on when it comes to what I write and how I write it. If I wanted to be “popular” I’d keep a Twitter account and shot witty phrases and sharp remarks off my arse instead
*shoot
I feel your pain there. So far I have over one hundred subscribers to my writing blog (twitter followers included), and I think it is due to three things: post title, content, and tips/giveaways…
Even now I had to revamp my blog and do less book reviews and more useful posts on writing. Also watch your top posts and referral links in your stats…this tells you a lot about what people are loving about your blog.
As a fellow writer it is difficult to engage readers and it took me three years to really gain a following and even now I wish to gauge my readers’ interest more.
Good luck!
I keep reading some sort of comment and -no offence meant- the same question keeps coming to mind: what is it with posting “excerpts of what I write”? I mean, if you’re, say, “saving it for the bigger audience”, or perhaps your work will actually be published, then we’re not referring to the same as for goals. I simply mean to share what I write, in the sense of making it available for all to see and “enjoy”, out there, in the open, exposed, vulnerable and everybody’s.
IMHO, excerpting belongs to the realm of commercial enterprise, “getting inspiration in others’ work” is for academic writing, while literature is for sharing, meant to be thought-provoking, enriching our life both in the act of creating and reading.
Keep it up!
Cheers
I don’t think I’m near qualified enough to offer any sound advice, but I’d like to share what works for me – to write every day. Sure, 99.99% of what I write is scrap-pile destined after editing and all, but it’s the .01% that’s usable that excites me. If I don’t write every single day, I’d always think about writing and never actually get anything done, so I just have to push through the muck to find the gold. It’s why I started my blog, for motivation and to actually finish a story that’s long been holed up in my head
I’ve noticed sharing a photo prompt or other prompt that you write from and challenging others to show what they are prompted to write by it is a great way to get (and give) interaction between writers. I also enjoy responding to prompts from other bloggers. I notice that my non-writing followers read these posts more than even the most creatively posted story or poem without the shared challenge aspect. Doesn’t work for everything, of course, but it’s a fun way to create a buzz about writing.
I’m an aspiring writer. I think I keep an original approach when it comes to blogging. I think it’s all about just determining from the start what you want to blog about, then sticking to that. I keep to three main categories of posts and lately I’ve been debating on posting my short stories. However, I want to wait to hear back from some contests/publishers before posting them freely on the net.
I love WordPress for writing, in general, because Tumblr is much more ADD and it’s almost looked down upon there if you are posting more than two sentences. Twitter is more writing-friendly than Tumblr lol, but WordPress is my personal favorite.
Reblogged this on Writerling and commented:
A great entry on helping to get started on writing fiction or poetry!
Thats a great news content. I like fictions and poetry as well ( especially love poems ). So if anyone fall in this category don’t miss me and i’ll catch you.
http://rosesandcoffee.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/photo-of-the-day-flower-in-hands/
send me best love poems and i’ll keep visiting your place.
Great post, with loads of useful links – thanks! Have reblogged this at http://mercuriahibernica.wordpress.com/.
This is how I do it on my blog… http://ordinarylifelessordinary.wordpress.com/category/poetry-2/ I use words and images for both fiction and poetry. I also offer creative prompts too….
Reblogged this on Kids Make It Write.
And writing with different voice and personality.
Awesome Post. I have re-blogged this on our site.
I love that writing fiction for a blog allows for a) publication, which I think inspires higher quality from the start since it is a public medium, and b) iterative content management — you don’t ever have to be “finished,” which allows for further improvements to writing quality.
The following is from the POV of a short fiction (very narrow campfire stories genre : ) writer — http://www.scurrytails.wordpress.com:
1) Just do it. Sometimes the words come and 2,000 of them fill the screen in one sitting. Sometimes you are grinding the same short story for weeks and weeks and weeks. Either keep grinding or pick up another writing project.
2) Shift forms. Sometimes the non-fiction posts — a post on blogging, a post on art to support fiction, etc., a non-sequiter rant — can help you maintain posting productivity and keep the writing machine lubricated while fiction ideas and writing solutions ruminate.
3) Since blogs are visual media / multimedia, the images that support them can be every bit as much a challenge / rewarding as the words. And that’s OK (and frankly, sometimes compel visitors as much as the words).
So now that I’ve offered, I’d like some help: what are some good ways to generate reader engagement? Fiction isn’t always as provocative of conversation as blogs about politics and celebrity fashion can be. How do you get readers to do more than just mumble “meh,” before moving on?
In one of my editing blogs, “Rhythm and Rules,” I discuss how to use music (usually instrumental) to focus and help your writing. Instead of white noise, it can offer a rhythm and a momentum that matches your mood and can keep you writing.
Woops. Best if I took you to my actual editing blog, huh? http://allcappsediting.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/rhythm-and-rules/
Dear Elizabeth, I’ve discovered a problem with using Manifest for a poetry/writing blog! It’s fine if you intend to only post your own work but if you’d like to feature work by other writers there is a problem in WordPress.com. In Manifest the author of the post comes up after the title by default. So you cannot feature the work of another writer without appearing to be authoring their work! This is such a shame because it’s a beautiful theme for poetry and creative writing. I notice that two British poets, Abegail Morley and Kim Moore, use the Matala theme for their poetry blogs so that the post reads “posted on (date) by _______________” If only Manifest could offer that option! Matala, in my opinion, doesn’t have the simplicity of Manifest that really showcases the poem. So disappointed! Any suggestions?! – Josephine
Just replying to myself here! I’ve overcome my disappointment with Manifest and switched to Twenty Eleven with the widget area the bottom and the single column down the middle. The concept of my blog ‘And Other Poems’ http://www.andotherpoems.wordpress.com is a quiet, uncluttered space for poems and nothing else. It seems to be working well so far. I’m certainly the experience of running two blogs – one for creative work and one to talk about it.
Hi Josephine. Indeed, the post author field only gives you the option to select an author from users of your blog – it’s not possible to write in an author there.
Some themes (like Manifest) show the post author field by default, even for blogs where there is only one user, and some do not. I’m glad you’re set with Twenty Eleven, and the blog is looking great!
Thanks!
Creativity whether Literary Genre or Artistic spring are always alive though dormant in every Person ,waiting for an opportunity to show up like the water flowing underneath the Earth ! It is the divine Duty of All in such position to recognise and encourage the Talents . As a Book Publisher of over forty years I am humble enough to request all those who can recognise the talent of creative Art; may kindly do whatever they can to help add to the illuminating World !
Ohh, topic i can write about. oh wait. i just wrote a post on this topic a week ago i think. I guess I’m clairvoyant!
YEY!? not really. Can I still tag postaweek for it? *sigh*
Or maybe i’ll just read posts on itt
I’ll just share it as well in case anyone wants to read it…
http://flyforicarus.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/beyondlinesandrhymes/
may we be, just…..free
setting your soul free…..
Check out my website… you will be glad you did! http://www.solaveisecret.wordpress.com
some is gd or some is not so bad but alltime i say this everything will be allright..
Hey! I didn’t realise that literature was in the Olympics! Does that mean I’m an athlete?!
Strangely I wrote an Olympic related post today if anyone’s interested. It’s a satire of Olympics in the future – A Review of the Olympic Games, in 4024 http://wp.me/p28REp-5H
Would love to know what you think, I’m thinking of doing more sports related writing on the back of this!
Also – I’m aiming to post more regular “normal” blogs. Your site looks like it might be of use to inspire me! Thanks
just started my blog and the tips you dropped are quite handy. I expect to get more tips!
Just a couple of days ago on my reader I caught a flash of a Daily Post about a new writing challenge but then I returned an hour or so later and it had disappeared. Did I imagine it? I’m sure I didn’t because it sounded really cool. Tell me I’m not going mad please!!!
Writing Hell….http://wp.me/1W0Pa read and enjoy
I like the advice a lot, but I think there are a couple of things missing. A couple of other bloggers have commented on getting on and writing lots. Treating it like a discipline inevitably helps. But I think feedback is even more important.
Learning to suss out what works and what doesn’t is immensely important, whether you’re writing satire or children’s fiction, or anything in between. I cannot recommend enough branching out into writing drama, and then getting it performed – or failing that, putting it on yourself. You get reactions throughout, from the actors and/or directors, and then from the audience, critics, and from watching it through on tape a few months afterwards once you’ve lost the buzz and are more minded to be critical. I’ve learned huge amounts from having 11 plays performed, some of them toured, and it was the later ones which brought in the awards. All of this helped my prose too, because some of the rules are just the same. Like working out when characters really wouldn’t act as you’ve written them.
And as an additional point, a lot of people I know who write keep “blocking” on a scene or a chapter, and bang their heads against a wall. For me, having a block has one of two causes: 1) I simply haven’t thought that scene or chapter out enough, and need to have some thinking time, ideally whilst I get on with writing something else, or writing a later scene; 2) The scene or project isn’t working. The second one is depressing, but needs to be acknowledged sometimes. I have a play which I have tried to write off and on for a long time, and I’ve never been really engaged with it. Eventually, after a passing comment by a writer I know, I realised that the whole thing was never going to engage me because there wasn’t enough at stake in the piece. There was no threat, no deadly time on it, and whilst there was humour there just wasn’t enough interest. I put it down and have never regretted not picking it up again. It just wasn’t a runner and it’s worth knowing that sometimes. There are many, many other things my time would be better spent writing, and many of the ideas will find their way into those.
Reblogged this on Tiny Writer's Blog.
Reblogged this on sarah nean bruce ~ living in urbia… and commented:
#WRITING ~ excellent tips for writing/posting ~ #STORYTELLER @sarahneanbruce
Reblogged this on My Molskine: Growth is Infinite and commented:
I need to take not of these, always trying to improve.
I’m an aspiring novelist and I find that blogging is a great way to keep up my writing skills and creative touch when I’m too lazy to work on the novel.
I didn’t know about 1948- great article!
Inspiring article! Vielleicht sind unter den Lesern auch deutschsprachige Nutzer, die sich für die unbekannten Schreiber der Blogwelt interessieren.
I went with my gut feeling and am posting my Flash Fiction (very short 75 word stories) and occasional Haiku. Oh and the odd pic of the beautiful place i live in! It seems to be working …
Reblogged this on Shoreline Cluster Poets.
I have loved playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for quite a while, and took it to the next step with my Role Playing Fiction/Fantasy character at Merrian of Cyrodiil: http://merrianofcyrodiil.wordpress.com
I think you are right about reading great poetry as a starting point for your own writing – but you must bring in your own concerns, experiences and ideas. I like imitating other poets’ style, but I always strive to find my own voice. It’s a game of to and fro. That’s the joy of reading and writing!
Reblogged this on Noke In The Cloud.
Don’t get bogged down–if you have a good idea write it down, draw it or record it. You can only improve on it later.
Or…take inspiration from elsewhere. I’m writing down my snippets of imagination and putting them out into the ether for others.
Reblogged this on francescapescehughes and commented:
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Reblogged this on AYUSHMAN PERSHAD.
some excellent advice here. I am just finishing my first novel and the edits are taking forever. I need to make this project top priority to complete, I know that. It’s easy to get distracted. and in terms of advice for any creative project: just begin, the inspiration will follow. If we waited for the perfect time and mood to write, create…we would never accomplish anything!
Reblogged this on My Poetic Path and commented:
Some good advice here from the WP blog and also in the comment section re: writing fiction and poetry. Hope you enjoy it too. G
Great advice!! I love poetry; writing and reading it. There is nothing like a vibrant and whimsical poem to get the creative juices flowing!!!! Thanks for this!!
People from the top of the organization is paid, as long as the point is not lost very rapidly to give back a certain point, were made in this article.
Thanks so much for posting this information. I’ve been writing my own poetry my entire life. And finally have posted my very first blog ever containing all of my personal work. So yepperz this is all new to me. I appreciate WordPress & all it’s awesome tips/articles.
Hi, I actually started blogging in wordpress with my “serialized” fiction novel. It’s actually hard writing fiction than non fiction because it takes so much energy from you. But now, after reading this post, I might actually go back and continue it.
http://www.RedoftheMacabre.wordpress.com is the fiction blog by the way.
wew… i must save this article fist to read it later, oks