11.16.09
Holiday Writing
Hello Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing.
With Thanksgiving only a couple of weeks away, I wanted to focus on holiday writing. Now, as we get ready to hang out with the family and stuff ourselves, we can also come up with ideas for articles, essays, etc.
What kinds of traditions does your family have? Who comes to Thanksgiving? What kinds of foods are cooked for turkey day? Who cooks the food? Is it a group effort or is there only one chef? What kinds of activities do you do with your family to get ready for the event? What kinds of things do you do while waiting for dinner to be ready?
Hopefully all of these questions can spark some great ideas and who knows? You can target magazines and anthologies for next year’s festivities and have your published work there to show off next Thanksgiving.
Happy Writing!
11.11.09
Notable Quotable
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing. Today’s quote is about courage.
It takes courage to be a writer. Why? Because it takes courage to put your words on a page and let other people read them. Some of us are too afraid to even get them out, but the fact that we do write is courageous enough. And then we get really brave and actually submit our work. Writing takes courage, submitting takes courage, and you have it too Freshman Writers.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer – George S. Patton
11.09.09
Gaming for a good cause
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing. In the hustle and bustle of being a writer and doing everything else that I do, I realized lately that I haven’t been allowing myself much fun. I then remembered a website that my friend introduced me to a couple of years ago.
It’s called “Free Rice” and was developed by a concerned father who wanted to help his child improve vocabulary for the SAT’s while also collecting funds to provide rice to needy families through the UN World Food Program. It’s a great game for Freshman Writers to play when they need a break from writing. It’s also a great reminder of the fun that writing can be.
Check it out today. Help grow your vocabulary as well as feeding the hungry.
Happy gaming!
11.04.09
Notable Quotable
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope today finds you well and writing. Today’s brief quote is a simple reminder of why writing is so important to writers.
Follow your bliss – Joseph Campbell
Writing can be blissful and sometimes it can’t. If you Freshman Writers are stuck on a topic or genre of writing, focus on writing that makes you happy. Remind yourself of the reasons why you started writing in the first place. Whether it is journaling or telling stories or even as simple as being able to gather your thoughts better. Follow what makes you happy today.
Happy Writing!
10.28.09
Notable Quotables
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing.
Today’s quote comes from a famous woman (famous to me, my family and friends) who shared a lot of wisdom with me growing up.
My mom was a hard-working and strong woman who definitely had much to share about life and writing. While not a published writer herself, she wrote her own lyrics to several traditional songs (which I found in her notebooks after she passed away). I could tell from her own life’s wishes that she did not get to do all that she wanted. But, while she was here she shared hope and wisdom.
So Freshman Writers, I present a quote from my mom, Francisca Reyes.
“If you don’t like something, change it.”
What is it about your current writing life that you don’t like? Is it how little you write? Maybe not being published enough? What holds you back from writing?
My mother was a pro-active person. She always advised me to change things if they did not work for me. Whether it was my current job or the church I attended or the friends I had. With this quote, she recognized the power within every person to change the things that we struggle with. I thought for this week’s Notable Quotable, it would be a great one to share!
Happy Writing!
10.27.09
Nanowrimo or National Novel Writing Month
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing.
Today’s post is about National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo for short. What is this all about? Nanowrimo is a contest (your only competition is yourself) to see if you can write 50,000 words or 175 pages of a manuscript starting on November 1 (this Sunday!) . It can be either fiction or nonfiction. The purpose is to just get those words out of your brain and onto the page or computer screen.
The cool thing about this is that you’re not alone in this challenge. You can find forum on the site as well as events that are happening near you. You can meet up with some fellow nanowrimo-ers or just stick to being on the forums. Each day that you write, you can go back to the site and enter your word count for the day. The rising number will keep you focused and motivated until you hit 50K. Don’t worry so much about editing, just get writing.
I’m also sharing this because I’ve signed up for this. Follow my blog to check out my progress during Nanowrimo. I do have a project for this and hope to complete it. I also hope to keep something like this up on a regular basis (yearly) so that I can have more output on my book-length pieces. Note – I have a lot more book ideas festering inside my brain. lol
So Freshman Writers – are you up for the challenge? Happy writing!
10.20.09
Today is National Day on Writing
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing. I received my newsletter from the National Association of Memoir Writers this morning and found out that today is the first ever National Day on Writing as designated by Congress.
Writing is such an important part of everyday life, whether you’re sending a handwritten letter to your parents or an email to a colleague.
So your challenge for the National Day on Writing – share why you like to write. What draws you to the writing process?
Happy Writing!
10.14.09
Notable Quotable
Hiya Freshman Writers! It’s Notable Quotable time and today’s quote comes from one of our Presidents. No, not the one currently in the White House, but one of our first presidents.
John Quincy Adams was president from 1824 through 1828 and then went on to serve in the senate. His quote really give writers (and everyone else) some encouragement and hope to be published.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” The challenges that Freshman Writers face of fear, being new writers, or any others that come up can be overcome by being patient and persistent. Freshman Writers who write and send, write and send, and do it again are writers who will be published in the long run. And even if it takes a long time to get there, patience will get you through it and perseverance will get your name in print.
So Freshman Writers, take Adams advice and be patient with yourself and persistent in accomplishing your writing goals today.
Happy Writing!
10.13.09
Get ideas from your family relationships!
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing. Today’s post is about getting ideas from your family.
Often enough, writers have the hard task of coming up with something new to write about. I get stuck, too and look at my family relationships for ideas. One relationship that I constantly write about is the one I have with my eight-year-old son. I’ve used the dynamic between us as a springboard for a story. Not only was I able to genuine capture my perspective, I was also able to see the world from his end. Family relationships can inspire you when you’re trying to figure out how people will relate to each other in a fiction piece.
You can also use your family relationships to develop memoirs of different periods in your personal life. For example, my writing pal Annette Fix was just given an Honorable Mention by Writer’s Digest for her memoir, The Break-up Diet in their 17th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards.
So, Freshman Writers look to your family for great writing ideas. Whether its your crazy Uncle Eddie that showed you out to gross out your mom or your sympathetic son, Jack who gives you a hug when you’re sad ; family relationships can inspire your best work!
In addition to writing about family relationships, I’m also participating in a mass blogging!
WOW! Women on Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost when they were teenagers. Visit the Muffin www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html to read what Therese has to say about family relationships and view the list of all my blogging buddies. And make sure you visit www.theresewalsh.com to find out more about the author.
10.07.09
Notable Quotables
Hiya Freshman Writers! Hope this finds you well and writing.
Today’s quote is about faith. One of the things that I struggle with (as well as other writers) is believing in myself. I have my days where I think my writing is crap and other days when my writing shines.
Today’s quote by William Hazlitt links faith and victory. “Faith is necessary to victory” – If you want to see your name in print, you need to believe in yourself.
Negative thinking will always stop you in your tracks and keep you from sending your work out. But, if you have faith in yourself and your writing talent, there’s no telling how far you can go!
Happy Writing!
