Creative Writing

I approved a really cool comment today, and I’m glad I did as this comment got me to thinking about my own writing abilities. Now, normally, I’d post a link to the comment, but I have to be honest and say that I’m not pleased with the fact that this person used an affiliate link to a “pay-me” site, but the words that this person left were pure gold.

Anyone who has ever done any fictional writing can tell you that one of the keys to making a good story better is by adding just the right details. The comment left on the site said something to the effect of creating a scene as though painting a picture, and called it “landscape writing”. I love it. The words hit me like a bullet. Of course, create your scenes as though planting a garden or putting in some new trees. But in this case, let the words create an aura that will keep your readers wanting more.

I remember that there used to be a guy on PBS that did some of the coolest paintings I’ve ever seen. I believe the man’s name was Bob Ross, and I was always mesmerized by the way he could just paint and entire landscape scene, start to finish, in half an hour. When I heard the term “landscape writing”, I immediately thought about this gentleman and the way his brush danced across the canvas. And that’s what the words should do in creative writing. They should seem flawless, magical, as though painted into the scene.

I’d love to take credit for this cool term, but sadly I can’t. However, I can use it in all my future writings, and hope I can do justice to the term “landscape writing”.

Do you ever get bored with your writing? I have to be honest. On more than one occasion, I’ve gotten totally bored with mine. Over time, especially for those who write about the same topics or niches from day to day, you can get pretty bored with yourself. Anyway, I know I do. So, what’s the trick to getting past that feeling? Easy, write about something else.

I do a lot of article writing, especially for other people. This has been a blessing for me in several ways. I’m not talking financially, I’m talking mentally. One person will come to me and say “Hey, Chris, can you write X amount of articles about this topic for me?”. Well, I don’t know the first blooming thing about the topic, so I go do a little research and that is usually all it takes.

Now, I want to stress a little something here. First of all, (and I’ll do a whole post on this later), I stay as far away from sites like Wikipedia as I can. Honestly, the information on these sites just isn’t reliable enough for me to trust. Secondly, never trust the information from one place. I always check out 2, 3, and sometimes 4 different places before I’m satisfied that I’ve got it right.

Ok, back to what I was talking about. When I have to make my brain work a little harder than normal, I find that I get that exhilaration back that made me want to be a writer in the first place. I get really pumped from the experience. It gives me just enough of a break from my normal duties, to keep me going another day.

I know I can’t speak for all writers everywhere, but I also know that I can’t be the only one who gets this feeling from time to time. When you write about the same thing all the time, you’re going to get bored. It’s the same in any job. But, when you start to feel empty and mundane, do something different. For example, if you write about politics everyday and start to feel drained, try writing a totally fictional story about a dog and his boy. (Yes, that’s what I said). Leave politics completely out of it. Let your creative side take over and do all the work. You’ll be amazed at how much better your brain will feel.

I’m quickly learning that you’ve got to be pretty creative when it comes to writing articles. Not because it’s such a competitive field, but because there are times when you’ve got to create many different articles about the same subject. I recent weeks, I’ve been writing articles for an outside source, all based around the same product. To date, I’ve written about 50 articles around a single subject.

This might not sound like a big deal, but when you’ve got a client or website that centers around a single topic, you find that most of what you have to say is repetitive. The trick is to word it in such a way as to make the reader think they’re getting new information, and that takes a lot of creativity. You’ve got to find fresh angles, updated information, and little tidbits of information that makes your article look like new.

The good part about this is that over time you pick up enough information that you can add little details throughout each post and make it seem like a one of a kind. The down side is that you find that most of the information is the same as every other article. But, if you can find a way to merge the two sides together, you can come up with some pretty interesting pieces.

I challenge you to come up with as many titles as you can based around a singular subject. You can choose any topic you’d like, but the challenge is to come up with a specialized topic. For instance, a particular sport or a single celebrity. The narrower your topic, the more creative you have to be. Once you have your topic, see how many ideas you can create around it. You’ll be amazed at what you can do when you really put your mind to it.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been filling up notebooks with little tidbits of writing. A story line here, the start of an article there. And over time, I’ve managed to stack up about 50 different notebooks of useless information. Then again, maybe it’s not so useless. I can use all that to help with new projects.

Now, maybe I’m the only person who does this, but just in case, all those ideas can be used and reused. I found in one notebook, the idea of writing an article about modern wedding practices from around the world. I wrote it down and forgot all about it. But, now that I look at it again, I can see where that can be turned into several different ideas. For instance, modern practices vs. traditional practices.

For those who write more fiction than non-fiction, keeping dumb little ideas in a notebook is a great idea. I write down all my ideas, no matter how silly they may seem at the time. However, somewhere down the road, those ideas may be the answer we’re looking for to make a good story even better. Or, they may even spark an idea that hadn’t been thought of before.

Also, you can use the same idea over and over again, simply by rewording the piece. Several years ago, I wrote an article on how to start a blog. It wasn’t my best work, but at the time, I thought it was brilliant. Over the years, I’ve reworked that one article at least 3 more times. Each time, I’d add new information while restructuring the old information. In the end, I had 3 very different articles about the same topic.

If you’re a true writer at heart, you never throw away anything. I’ll bet you even have some old napkins or other scraps of paper lying around somewhere with bits of wisdom scrawled upon them. Well, get all those pieces collected and get them put together somewhere safe. You never know when one of those little quips will be your next work of genius.

When I first started writing online more than 10 years ago, I thought I’d never get to the stage where I actually made real money for what I was doing. However, I’m not only doing what I’ve always dreamed of doing, I’m doing it well enough to help pay some of the expenses of my son’s upcoming graduation costs. However, I’m finding that there is a lot more to this than I thought, and that nobody ever talked about.

Believe it or not, there are some down sides to being a freelance writer. Yes, it’s true. For the most part, I’m living my dream, but I’m finding that I wasn’t given all the details to this type of lifestyle. Though I won’t get into all the petty things I’ve run across, I will give you a few ideas of what to look for in the world of online freelance writing.

First of all, I wished someone would have told me when I started this journey that it was going to take me more than 10 years to see my dream come true. Honestly, I thought by now I’d be living in a big house on the hill with a nice car, picket fence, and all the finer things in life. The truth of the matter is that I’m just now getting to the point where I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Another thing I’ve learned over the years is that what’s hot one day, is old news the next. When you write online, you’ve got to be able to keep up with all the latest trends, and know when they’re no longer seen as interesting. And now, there’s all this talk about making sure you’ve got the right keywords in your articles, and the right amount of keywords. Not to mention the fact that you’ve got to produce something unique from those words that doesn’t resemble anything else on the Internet.

I think, though, the biggest thing I’ve learned throughout my journey is that even when you’ve managed to make a name for yourself online, you’re still a nobody in traditional writing circles. Most magazines and other print venues want a sample of your writing abilities. When you tell them that you’ve written for several websites and online magazines, they look at you as though you’ve got the plague. This makes it hard to get anything into print, which is where the real money lies.

That may be the biggest lesson I’ve learned, but the most important one is the fact that you can never give up. If you really want to be a writer, it shouldn’t matter where your work is showcased. Anyone who has the desire to be a writer will tell you that the greatest feeling isn’t so much in the amount of money you’ve made, but in the number of people who have read what you have to say. And for me, that’s worth more than gold.

I can’t believe that November is just around the corner. That means it’s almost time for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. I’m joining up once again to see if I can be one of the winners again this year. This will be my 3^rd year of NaNo and I’m already working on the basics for my story.

For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is all about, it’s really pretty simple. During the month of November, millions of people from around the world get together and try to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. The end product doesn’t have to be ready for publication, just a rough draft. The trick is making the 50K word count by the 30^th.

I won last year, making the word count. It might sound easy, but it’s not. Some people can sit down and have their story done by the middle of the month, but I have no idea how they do it. The rules of the thing are pretty basic. You can’t write a single word of your story before 12:01am of your local time on November 1^st. You can get your basic outline done, have a good idea of what you’re going to write about, and all your characters worked out, but you can’t write any part of the story until the 1^st.

Then, you’ve got 30 days to create a 50K novel. The website is set up to help you along the way. It helps you keep track of your word count, gives you a special page for your information, and even offers a forum so that you can hang out with others working on their novels. It’s really a fun time, but it’s a lot of work.

If anyone else is joining in the NaNoWriMo challenge this year, add me to your buddies list. I’m listed as crsenter. I’m still trying to come up with the basics of my story, but I think I’ve just about got it figured out. But, like last year, I may change my mind at the last minute. LOL

I’ve recently joined a new bloggers forum and have found that there are still a lot of people out there who don’t know how to blog, or don’t know what to blog about. I guess I found this interesting as I thought I was one of the last people on the planet who really got into blogging. So, this post is going to talk about what you should blog about, and how to go about doing it.

First of all, deciding what to blog about is limited only by what interests you. The first thing I usually tell those who are wanting to get into the blogging game is to stay away from the Make Money Online market. Mainly because it is such a competitive market and there are so many others in this niche that are very knowledgeable about the topic.

The best way to get your blog going is to come up with a niche topic that isn’t quite as competitive. Figure out what it is that you enjoy talking about and go from there. Maybe you know some really great gardening tips, or have a love of haunted places. These are great topics to get you started.

Next, remember to talk to your readers. Think of yourself as sitting in a little coffee shop or in your own kitchen, and just hanging out with the rest of the world. You don’t have to sound like an expert. You just need to offer your experiences and techniques in order to get others to keep coming back for more.

The hardest part about blogging is getting visitors to stop by and see what it is that you have to offer. That’s where forums, boards, and social networks come into play. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are a great place to start. All you have to do is announce that you’ve posted a new article, and what it’s about. Be sure to add your blog’s link in your signatures. It will help those you talk to on a regular basis, find your blog.

Finally, you don’t have to put up a new post every single day. As someone who reads a lot of blogs, my advice is to post every 2 or 3 days. Why? Because it gives everyone a chance to read everything you’ve written without having to go back through days and days of previous posts. Pace yourself and more than anything else, have fun.

Being the month of all things spooky, I thought this would be a good time to talk about ways to use themes as a source of creativity. I try to find a special occasion or holiday to base a lot of my writings on, and to theme my blog posts and stories around. The following are a few ideas that you can use throughout the year to help in coming up with ideas to write about.

January-

Of course, there is the New Year. That one goes without saying. But there are a few other ideas that you can use for this month. For instance, you can use winter as a theme for your writings in this month, or the legends of winter such as Jack Frost and/or the Ice Queen.

February-

We all know that this is the month for lovers thanks to Valentine’s Day, but here in the states we also celebrate President’s Day. A few other ideas can be about flowers, chocolates, how to write a love letter, or even how to tell that special someone how you feel.

March-

Here, you can use all things Irish. Talk about leprechauns and four leaf clovers. You can also talk about the changing of the seasons, the new birth of spring, and of course, the way the winds come and go throughout the month.

April-

Here we have, or usually have, the celebration of Easter. This can be taken in so many different directions. For instance, one can talk about the Resurrection of Christ, or talk about how rabbits and Easter egss have come to be associated with this holiday. Then there are all the trees and plants that are beginning to sprout back to life.

May-

With May, you can discuss topics such as Mother’s Day or tell the world “Why I Love My Mom”. You can use the ever-changing climate as a source of creativity, talk about all the different things you can do with roses, or discuss all the different places you’d like to visit on your summer vacation.

June-

This would be a great time to talk about all the cool things that have to do with getting married. Guest lists, caterers, flower arrangements, and even about who should wear what to the big event. This is also a great time to look at all the famous people getting married and talk about what they wore, who showed up, and maybe even take a few bets on how long it will last.

July-

What better time to talk about Independence. The fact of the matter is that the United States isn’t the only country that celebrates an Independence day during this month. But there are a lot of other topics around Independence, such as moving out on your own, picking yourself up after a bad break-up, or finding out how to go on after a loved one has passed away.

August-

Though there are very few holidays during this month, this is a good time to talk about the infamous “Dog Days of Summer”. Topics could include, “How to keep your cool this summer”, or “Best cooling treats for hot days”. Tell the world you best ideas on staying cool.

September-

The topics that can be covered during this month are things like, the harvest and bringing things in from the garden. There is also the whole Autumnal Equinox thing and how this time of year has influenced cultures over the years. You can talk about the changing of the seasons, the new colors on the trees, and how to prepare for the coming winter.

October-

As I said in the beginning, this is the time of year to talk about all things spooky. Things like ghosts, goblins, vampires, witches, and werewolves. Each one of these could even cover many other topics around them. Why do we celebrate Halloween? Why is the big moon called the Harvest Moon? What do costumes have to do with this time of year?

November-

In the States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. We can talk about the first Thanksgiving dinner, why certain dishes are seen as “traditional”, and even offer recipes for more modern turns on traditional pieces. You can talk about football and your favorite, or least favorite, teams. Or how to throw the perfect football party.

December-

Obviously, here we would discuss Christmas. You can talk about the Nativity itself, or how to throw a great office Christmas party. How about a series for kids on making gifts that mom and dad will love. Or a recipe book for the best holiday treats you’ve enjoyed over the years. When it comes to this month, the possibilities are virtually endless.

And there you have it. Creative ideas for the entire year. No matter what part of the world you live in, there are holidays and special occasions that can be used as a means of coming up with writing ideas.

When it comes to great creative writing, everything comes down to the fine details. The difference between a good story and a great story are all the tidbits of information that your brain takes in that you may not even realize. It’s those little bits of extra information that make your story pop.

For instance, say you’re writing a story about a young woman in a short skirt. You could very well tell your readers “…he couldn’t help but notice her in that mini skirt…”, or you can add a few details that will grab your readers attention, “…he couldn’t help but notice her in that black leather mini skirt…”. It’s not much, but it gives the reader a visual enhancement.

This little trick can be added to any type of writing style. However, you’ve got to be careful not to add too much detail. It is possible to add more to the story than is needed. There is a fine line between adding a few details, and overdoing the details. If you’re scene becomes too overwhelming, you could end up losing your readers.

The best way to decide if you’ve enough or too much detail is by reading your story out loud. If it sounds a bit boring, add some details. If it sounds to cluttered, take a few out. It’s really just that simple. It’s amazing what a few minor details can do for your story.

One of my favorite ways of coming up with ideas to write about start with a single word. There are many times when just one word can create a great scene, or even an entire world. These are called One Word Prompts, and anyone can create their own list of ideas.

It all starts with a blank computer screen, or a sheet of paper. Then it’s just a matter of letting your mind wander, one word at a time. You can number your list, or just do bullets, whatever makes you happy. And don’t limit yourself to single syllable words, get wild. Use nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, anything goes, as long as you’re writing. Sometimes, just writing that list will get things moving.

Now get inventive. Create new names, ideas, places, and even diseases. It’s your world, use your own words. I once created an entire list of mythological creatures, based on different sounds. For instance, off the top of my head, let’s create the Morphadonalite. A creature that appears as one being during the day, and another at night. Whatever you want, it’s right.

Even when you feel like there is nothing to write about, make yourself write. One word prompts will get you motivated and will start the creative process. And keep that list for future use, add to it as the days go by, and see what genius creations you can come up with.