Freewriting on a Sunday (or Any Day You Can!)

Albuquerque Morning; watercolor crayons and indigo ink

It's Sunday morning and I'm doing my best to recreate an earlier life: walk to the museum, buy coffee, write to a prompt.

Once I sit down, the background noise holds a familiarity that is good to write to: the coffee machine hisses, children run around the lobby, people stand in line and can't make up their minds what to order: quiche or a chocolate croissant? The cafe tables, as always, are unbalanced, their legs too short on one side and the floor is tiled. The only difference between then and now is I am alone; my writer's group disbanded long ago. And that's okay--writing is a solitary activity and I've learned to be comfortable with solitude.

And just like in the past, I've got a handful of prompts: magazine photos and snippets of text. What to choose? I place everything face-down on the table and pick a few at random before turning them over and surprising myself with the myriad of possibilities. I set the time (how about forty minutes?) and I begin . . . flash fiction, essay, poetry, new chapter for a work-in-progress . . . ?

Whatever I end up writing, though, isn't half as important as the fact I showed up. I did what I set out to do. And that's the beauty of freewriting: taking the time, making the effort, and being perpetually surprised at how much I can write even when I don't really want to.

I can't say enough about freewriting. Ever since I first read (and re-read) Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones and followed her advice on the topic I've been hooked. Here's why:

1. Freewriting is good for absolutely everything: short stories; novels; memoir; screenplays; poetry, even business correspondence. You can't go wrong with a "don't think, just write" first draft.

2. Breaking freewriting sessions (or anything else for that matter) into timed segments makes me far more productive than when I force myself into hours and hours of non-stop work--which never really works. Note: If you don't like the pressure of a time frame, going for several word- or page-count sessions is equally effective; 500 words per session or 3-5 pages are doable goals.

3. I love prompts. I've written about this before, my last post for National Poetry Month being one example. Prompts save time--no more thinking about what to write--and they don't have to be snipped from magazines or other printed materials. How about choosing an item from your handbag, or writing about a person, animal, object, or piece of artwork right in the area you're sitting?

4. Freewriting gives me a great sense of daily accomplishment. My favorite quote from Dorothy Parker is: "I hate writing, I love having written." While I'd never say I hate writing (because I don't), there are, of course days, I'm not particularly motivated, or I'm too preoccupied with some kind of boring energy drain (e.g., taxes) to sit down and write. Which are the very times that I need to sit down and write. So I do--even if it's only for fifteen minutes.

5. Freewriting has given me what I can only describe as an attitude of "joyful discipline." It's something I've learned to extend into a wide variety of creative pursuits, from gesture drawing and watercolor play to making memory-wire bracelets. Working with a dedicated focus inside a set time frame really boosts my energy and desire to create, and without making me feel the time spent is some kind of horrible homework assignment.

6. I get to use supplies, supplies, supplies! Freewriting by hand is essentially about mark-making, expressing how you feel or think at any given moment in the most honest way possible. To really get those feelings out, try using: giant sketchpads, glitter gel pens, exquisite fountain pens, fancy leather-bound journals, purple ink!

 7. Freewriting gets me out of the house. Writing in cafes, the park, and of course the art museum is more than inspiring, it's fun. Conversely, if you have to go somewhere, e.g., some dull appointment where you have to wait for hours before you're seen, freewriting can make the time go more quickly and enjoyably.

Tip of the Day: No prompt? No problem! Whenever you're stuck, tired, or can't lay your hands on a single magazine, you can always fall back on Natalie Goldberg's elegant go-to: I remember. Fifteen minutes, people--no excuses--keep those pens moving!

Happy 2025; My Year to Go Forward

© Creative Commons Zero / Dreamstime.com

 

Happy 2025! Happy-to-be-back-blogging-again! Happy just to be here at all! 

2024 wasn't exactly a stellar year for this blog; three whole posts for an entire twelve months due to lengthy eye surgery and subsequent recuperation. I couldn't see, so I couldn't write. (Or read very much, for that matter, either.)

But that didn't mean the year was lost, or solely centered on measuring out eye drops. Before I was totally out of action, I did get a lot done, including:

• Upgrading my website to now sell my jewelry and artwork.
• Completing the 100-Day Project. Some of the pieces from the project can now be purchased at my site.
  
• Going on numerous local adventures with my wonderful friends. Favorite trips were visiting Albuquerque's Turquoise Museum and afternoon tea at The St. James Tea Room.
  
• Finding some great books, the best being The Riders and Dirt Music, both by Australian author, Tim Winton.
• Discovered graphite watercolors--an amazing product I can't imagine how I ever lived without. Prior to finding them by chance on a YouTube channel, I had used water-soluble graphite pencils, but watercolors mixed with graphite in pans? Never. I'll be writing more about why I'm such a fan in my next post.
  
• Finished, edited, and polished both the final draft of my novel, Writing a Ghazal by Moonlight and my novella The Seaweed Collector. (At last. The End.)
• Created a series of illustrations for The Seaweed Collector.
• Walked (almost) every day as best I could.
  
• And finally the big one: I signed up for a 2025 art trip to France. Yes, I did. I will be staying in a former sixteenth-century convent-turned-art-retreat just outside of Toulouse for a new splash ink class taught by my friend and art teacher, Ming Franz.
  

While the trip to France might sound like the most exciting thing I have to look forward to, I do have some other equally important plans, starting with:

• Spend more time on market research and manuscript submission. Whether it's seeking out agents and editors for my yet-to-be-published manuscripts, or increasing exposure for my existing books, artwork, and jewelry, I want to up my marketing by assigning a daily time slot dedicated to business.
  
• Organize and polish my many short stories into a series of three anthologies.
• Finish my dystopian novella work-in-progress.
• Draft out and sketch two new picture book ideas: (Hint: they involve furry little animals wearing clothes.)
  
• Revive this blog and get back to a better posting schedule.
• Re-arrange and streamline my apartment to become a more functional art studio. For a long time I've been looking for an art studio to rent when it hit me: I have walls, I have space, I have good light--and far too much furniture. As soon as I return from France I'll be changing, well, everything.
  

In the same way that I like to list my past highlights and future goals, I also like to choose a word for the year, and this year the word is: Courage. And I must say, I can't think of anything scarier.

However, given that 2025 is the Year of the Snake (I HATE SNAKES!) I'm going to try my best to look 'em in the face, even pick one or two up by the tails, and hey, you never know. I might just make friends with a couple. So here I go: new year, new me, new vision. I hope you will find an equally inspiring, if not challenging, word for your own great year ahead.

Tip of the Day: Pick one thing that frightens you the most about creativity (and we all have at least one). Write it down, and then ask yourself why you're so afraid. It could be as simple as "fear of failure," or, "There's too much to learn. I'll never manage it all." Or, "Editors are so mean. Rejection makes me feel worthless."

One of the reasons I have always feared snakes is that my father was from New Zealand where there are no snakes. I was raised with terrible phobias because any kind of snake was considered a potentially deadly foe; no thought was ever given to non-venomous varieties or how helpful snakes can be maintaining their environment. 

Creativity can be just as frightening when we don't know what we're doing, or why we want to do it. This year, make a commitment to conquer that fear by learning as much as you can about whatever is calling you. You'll be surprised at how harmless it can be! 

13 Reasons to (Not) Cut Up a Magazine

Hello! Happy Spring! The last two months have found me on a blogging hiatus and for a very good reason: I was busy revamping my website, Valeriestorey.com. It was time for a change, and most of all, time to start selling my beaded bookmarks, jewelry, and artwork online. Hope to see you there!

Now that's done, however, it's back to blogging and one of my favorite topics: using magazines as a source for art and writing prompts.

I love prompts for any kind of creativity, even for game playing. Over the years I've used prompts in so many ways I can barely remember a time when I didn't use them. From Susan G. Wooldridge's Poemcrazy and her idea of creating "word pools," to simply having stacks of photo references for NaNoWriMo, magazine prompts have been my go-to method of writing forever. In my opinion, nothing matches an intriguing photo or a mysterious phrase to get a new scene or manuscript really going.

There's just one small problem: I can't find enough magazines! Always in the past free magazines seemed to be everywhere I went. I found them in local tiny libraries or for the grand price of twenty-five cents in thrift stores. Friends would happily give me several at a time, saying, "Oh, you like to cut things up. Take these--please!"

But lately my sources have dwindled. People don't subscribe like they did before, or they read online. So when I do come across a magazine full of great pictures or stories, I don't automatically grab my scissors. Instead, I'm keeping the pages intact and using every little thing they have to offer.

The upside to keeping magazine pages whole rather than shredded is I have a fresh outlook on how I use them, almost as if they were a type of multi-purpose reference book. I've discovered that I can more easily carry an individual magazine with me any time I choose to write outside or at my favorite cafe--no more dropped cut-outs scattering each time there's a breeze. Another benefit to working from a single magazine is I've discovered each issue will have a certain consistency that brings cohesion to a theme or a "look" for when I'm searching out characters or settings. For instance, take:

1. Characters. Because so many magazine issues are built around a single theme or subject, especially the month-by-month issues, it's easy to find groups of people (characters) who belong together. Whether they're all on vacation, all bankers, all celebrating Easter, or all wearing the strangest clothes ever designed in the whole of human history, page after page will feature people in related poses or situations. Regarding them as a group can create a cast of characters with a natural reason for knowing or meeting each other. Even the people and pets in the ads can fit into this united gathering.

2. Settings. Travel destinations. Art galleries. Home improvement. Magazines dedicated to single subjects will have multiple articles and ad repetitions of offices, bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, gardens, hotel rooms and restaurants providing so much detail, detail, detail you might never stop writing. When these details come from the same source, you once again have a more unified vision of where your characters interact and why.

3. Phrases. Article titles or ad-copy headlines are perfect for structuring story themes, or even adding to dialogue when they share a common purpose. For instance, art and design magazines will use a lot of technical references; literary magazines tend to be more poetic. Having a full list of phrases from a single source can be an excellent way, for instance, to title chapters or create a logical plot.

4. Found poetry. I love found or "black-out" poetry, taking shortened versions of existing phrases or lines out of context and placing them into new--often startling--arrangements. My personal preference is to use food magazines, but any magazine focusing on just one topic can provide an underlying consistency to your work, resulting in a more complete and better-crafted poem. To keep the magazine in top shape, consider photocopying the pages so that you can experiment with different ideas more than once.

5. And speaking of food . . .  Recipes! It's rare for a magazine that includes recipes to simply present a grab-bag of ideas somewhere on the back pages. Individual issues will instead usually choose one food type, such as salads, pasta, or a thousand-ways-with-eggs to complete each month's edition. "Recipe groupings" are great sources for character "show, don't tell" when you want to describe any of your characters' food preferences, dislikes, or allergies. They can eat the same thing over and over but cooked in a variety of ways, or avoid certain dishes with valid authority rather than "I don't like it."

6. Respond to a magazine's theme. Study each page and/or article as a whole and freewrite your feelings about what you read or saw. Sometimes the general color scheme alone can inspire a wealth of emotional response.

7. Add your own article or story. When you're finished reading a magazine, write something of your own to add to it. You might even want to write a piece in the voice of one of your characters to explore what truly interests them or how they feel about any given subject.

8. Get mad! Conversely, something about a magazine might bother you. You don't like the message, or how it was presented. Get snarky, be rude! Throw it at those horrible people in their dreadful glass houses with too much furniture and artwork. Let 'em have it. And make sure your characters behave even worse.

9. Get published. Why not? Magazine editors are always complaining about submissions that have nothing to do with a magazine's theme or requirements. But if you like a magazine, have studied it thoroughly, and think you have something to contribute, write a piece and submit it. Contact information and submission guidelines are usually listed in the first few pages.

10. Don't just sit there--read. With a magazine in your sketch- or writing-kit, you'll never be bored and will always have something to read wherever you go. You can't do that with a folder full of cut-outs.

11. DIY. Fashion, decorating, style--the things we're attracted to might be things we'd like to imitate or make ourselves. Creative prompts aren't exclusive to writing or painting. Ideas for knitting, pottery, or sewing can be as readily based on a magazine prompt as a story.

12. Art school. On a completely different note, magazines are fun to sketch with. I like to copy, trace, or find color palettes as exercises to fill my sketchbooks.

13. Break the rules. Draw on the pages. Add doodles, improve the view, change the colors of everyone's clothing. Use gesso to glue pages together and turn the whole thing into an altered book for more drawing or collage. (Of course you now have to go find a new magazine for new prompts, but at least you had fun!)

Tip of the Day: If you haven't already, gather a limited number of magazines that inspire you. I find six is a good number without being too cluttered. Personally I like to have a combination of art, fashion, interior design, food, and some kind of subject I wouldn't normally choose, say, a pet magazine. A good literary magazine is essential too. And don't overlook shopping catalogs. When you're ready for a new collection, simply pass your used copies on to your other writer friends and start all over again!

NaNoWriMo '23 -- It's All About Me! (And You Too!)

 

So here we are again: November and National Novel Writing Month and the eternal question: Why am I doing this??

Because I love it, I suppose!

Whatever the reason, this year has found me throwing myself into creative challenges with more than reckless abandon. I had barely recovered from July's Camp NaNoWriMo when I decided to go for Inktober '23 (31 days of daily ink drawing with mandatory social media posting) and then the next thing I knew I had to do "the real" NaNoWriMo . . . and off we go.

When I first thought about signing up for NaNoWriMo 2023, my intention was to simply continue the story I had started in July. Although I had reached my 50K goal, the manuscript was in no way complete, so it made sense to think November would be a good time to write another 50K to finish things off. 

That all changed several weeks ago when I couldn't sleep one night and got up to write instead. Suddenly I was immersed in a new story, one I hadn't expected to write and one I didn't really want to write. Working on a "shiny bright idea" with so many other projects calling for attention felt like a very bad idea. But there it was and it wouldn't go away so I thought, use it for NaNoWriMo!

While it was easy enough (maybe too easy) to switch gears into a new plot and theme, the abruptness of the change didn't give me any time to assemble my usual scrapbook-style journal of prompts and photo references. I had a great journal full of mood boards and creepy settings to use back in July, but there wasn't a single item I could use toward my new story. Very quickly I had to come up with an entirely fresh approach: rather than rely on my usual magazine cut-outs, I could dive into my own life and make the prompts all about me! (Sort of.)

I was inspired by the example set by one of my Twitter (X) friends, writer and poet, Janis La Couvée, who is currently exploring memoir writing. Her recent tweets on the subject reminded me of a workshop I had taught while I was living in Carrollton, Georgia: "Write Your Memoirs, You're Never Too Young To Start." It was a fun class and I know of several full-length manuscripts that were written for both family record-keeping as well as more general publication. However, other than a blog post with the same title, I haven't thought of memoir for a long time until it occurred to me that using prompts from my own daily life and memories could be what I needed for NaNoWriMo. 

In other words, I'd be "memoir writing" but with a twist. I could assign my memories to fictional characters who could take them wherever they wanted to go. For instance, as a small child I wanted to be an archaeologist, something I obviously never did (unless you count Albuquerque yard work as a trial run), but a fictional character could actually work for a museum.

With that direction in mind, I've made a quick 30-day list I'm happy to share for any kind of writing you might be doing this month yourself, whether it be NaNoWriMo, a genuine memoir, or even a month of poetry.

Taking the words: "base a scene on," or "your main character remembers (something from the list) which then triggers (action or emotion)," try:

1. A favorite song.
2. A disliked poem.
3. Most hated childhood food.
4. Most frightening moment.
5. Happiest day.
6. Three items inside your handbag or pockets.
7. Three items of clothing you love.
8. Three items of clothing you never wear.
9. Favorite pet.
10. Worst day of school.
11. Your best childhood friend.
12. A letter you never wrote.
13. Favorite book: go to page 93 and use the first line you read.
14. A restaurant you would never go to and why.
15. Your attitude to shopping.
16. A hobby or skill you would love to have.
17. A place you have always wanted to travel to.
18. Favorite color.
19. Most disliked color.
20. Your last argument.
    
21. Something you're allergic to.
22. Your car (or lack of one).
23. An item in your house you wish you could get rid of.
24. An item you wish you still had.
25. Greatest fear or phobia.
26. Housework.
27. Favorite movie.
28. What you are wearing this very minute.
29. What you really want to say to your neighbor(s).
30. Your daily routine as it is now, or how you'd like it to change.
    

And there you go: 30 prompts for 30 days! Feel free to use them in daily order or for a more spontaneous writing session, mix them up and use at random. Or add your own ideas; after all, you know your own life best!

Tip of the Day: Although NaNoWriMo requires both planning and organization, you can still start a day or two late and be a winner. One way I'm focusing on writing, and writing only, is to clear my work space and limit my writing tools to the basics: my Alphasmart; a lined notebook for writing in cafes, parks, or the middle of the night; and a new sketchbook with a small number of my favorite pens and pencils. The sketchbook is for visual brainstorming in between writing sessions and to keep the creativity flowing whenever I need a break. Now to go write my 50,000 divided by 30 equals 1666.666 words for the day. Happy November! Happy Writing!

Return from #CampNaNoWriMo 2023

Lakeside, CampNaNoWriMo 2023

 

 

Back home from CampNaNoWriMo at last! Well, okay, so I never went farther than the Albuquerque Museum Cafe and any relation to travel, camping, or singing 'round the campfire was all "let's pretend." But isn't that the definition of creativity? Using the imagination and taking it as far as it will go?

One thing I couldn't pretend away though, was how difficult CampNaNo turned out to be, and it wasn't just the very-real mosquitoes. Getting up every day to write close to 1700 words eventually became a Herculean effort and I did have to spend several days catching up with my word count, July 31st being the worst. I didn't finish writing that night until 11:44 PM. On the dot. It was a long evening indeed, but I made it across the finishing line just as the first street racers started roaring outside my windows down Route 66.

Now that two weeks have passed since the end of camp, I guess the big question is, WHY? Why did I want to do something so, well, challenging? Short answer: I wanted to see if I could. This year has been difficult for me on so many levels, and despite hours and hours of grief journaling, my creative writing often found itself buried under mounds of administrative paperwork. Signing up for CampNaNo was an opportunity to start over and see what direction I truly wanted to follow.

It was a good choice. As soon as I actually sat down to write I was back in one of the safest places I know: the blank page. I wrote in cafes. I wrote beside my condo's swimming pool. I wrote in the park. I wrote in bed. I got it done and I'm glad. There are so many benefits to joining in with a writing challenge, starting with:

1. Discipline. No excuses. You just have to write--so do it!
   
2. Commitment. Setting a challenge goal of 50K words or simply 50 pages is a promise to yourself, one you want to keep. It feels good to keep your promise.
   
3. Finding a schedule. A challenge is a good way to figure out your best writing times of the day or night. For me it turned out to be mid-afternoon. With a latte.
   
4. Visible progress. A writing challenge can bring a good dose of instant gratification. Watching your word counts and pages add up is immensely satisfying.
   
5. Freewrite like you mean it. I love freewriting, letting the words pour onto the page without editing, censoring myself, or worrying about "what people will think." Participating in a challenge leaves little time to do anything other than write, write, write, and often you have to abandon linear thinking, switching scenes on the fly, inventing new characters, ignoring transitions. It's great.
   
6. You're part of a global effort. It's fun to imagine all those other writers out there suffering enjoying themselves day after day, night after night. Writers tend to be loners, so what's better than a world-wide writer's group?
   
7. That idea you always wanted to play with? Now's the chance to go for it.
8. Beginner's mind. When you're writing fast you don't have time to think about the rules or the "right" way to approach your story. Every sentence is a new beginning, a new way to express yourself. You don't need answers, you just need to listen to that voice asking "what if?" and follow what first comes to mind.
   
9. A chance to experiment with form and genre. Bored? Turn your mystery into a series of short stories. Or add some recipes. Or poetry. Mix and match styles and write outside the box--you might find a brand new voice for yourself, the one you've always been looking for.
   
10. You can discover what it is you don't like to write. 20,000 words into your manuscript you might discover that you hate writing novels, and that's just fine. Maybe you would much prefer to specialize in personal essays, or you might never want to pick up a pen again, deciding that abstract landscape painting is your true calling. Now's the perfect time to find out.
    
11. You'll have 50K words to edit. I'm sure you've heard the truism that writing is re-writing. Except you can't rewrite a manuscript without a first draft. Join a challenge and you're guaranteed a first draft to rewrite for as many drafts as it takes.
    
12. You'll have a manuscript to publish. Yay! What more incentive do you need?
    

Regarding that last point about publication, as worthy as it is to eventually publish your work and while 50K is an excellent start, a full-fledged, polished manuscript really needs a minimum of 75,000 to 100,000 words to be a satisfying read. My plan is to go for that 100K goal after taking a several-month break. For the moment my pages are packed away in a folder, but as soon as November's National Novel Writing Month 2023 rolls around I plan to jump in with both feet and get that story finished. Until then, you can find me in the craft room painting more landscapes.

Tip of the Day: Now's the time to consider signing up for what will be the 24th year of NaNoWriMo. Begin by collecting writing prompts, character and other reference photos, and doing any research you might need to have in place before November 1. Even if it's a simple outline or a plan dividing 30 days into plot points and chapter breaks, it can be helpful to have your compass ready and your backpack full of ideas ready to go. As they like to say at camp, "Be prepared!"

31 Writing Prompts for Camp NaNoWriMo '23

Two days to go and here I am, preparing for yet another July and another Camp NaNoWriMo! 50,000 words in 31 days; a totally off-the-cuff decision to participate, but one I'm actually pretty excited about. 

To get myself ready for the big event I've got a new notebook, my favorite pen and extra cartridges of my favorite violet ink (yes, I always write my first drafts by hand), a good supply of snacks, and a dozen or more excellent cafes to visit for those days when I have to write with a latte or else.

But with all the supplies and comforts in the world, there inevitably comes that moment when I'm half-way through my coffee as well as my daily quota (1,613 words per day to be precise) and I'm hit with: "Oh, no--I'm stuck! What comes next? What on earth should I write?" 

Which is why I've always found it more than useful to have a list of writing prompts ready to go.

Back in 2021 I shared a similar list that you can view here if you feel you need for even more suggestions to help the words flow. All of my prompts, this year and those before, are simply to get things moving again, especially for those times I've lost a sense of who my characters are and why they're doing what they're doing. The prompts can be used for new scenes, back story, or just to shake things up and go off on an unexpected tangent. I know this can sound a little scary to dedicated plotters, but as a life-long pantster, I highly recommend the surprise of the road not only less-traveled, but also going for the one you never knew was there in the first place.

So here we go: 31 prompts for 31 days. Use them, share them, change or tweak them to fit your own story needs. Whatever you choose to do, the main thing is to keep writing!

1. Write about an inheritance that isn't about money.
2. Add a character obsessed with the paranormal. How does this affect your plot?
3. A character accidentally stumbles onto a movie set. How, what, why?
4. Three secrets your main character will never tell.
5. Three secrets your villain wants to tell the world about your main character.
6. Characters: main, villain, secondary--one of them witnesses an illegal act. How will this pivot the plot into a new direction?
7. Write about the time one of your characters went to summer camp when they were ten years old and hated it.
8. The same character had a completely different experience at the same camp whey they were fourteen. What happened?
   
9. An unexpected job offer. What and why?
10. Write about your characters' feelings about relationships.
11. A costume party with sinister undertones.
12. Your main character is going to an event but loses the invitation or the tickets. What happens now?
13. A visit to an animal shelter.
14. Several of your characters are having an argument about religion. Why? What are they saying? What is the aftermath?
15. Write about a new skill or hobby your main character is learning and why they want to learn it.
16. Choose a favorite piece of music for each of your characters. Write about why it's their favorite and how they feel when they hear it.
17. What is your main character's imaginary "safe place"? When do they most often go there?
18. Write about your villain's favorite book and how it has influenced them to be who they are today. How will it figure in your plot?
19. Write about a childhood rejection.
20. What is your main character's most meaningful piece of jewelry and why? What would happen if it was lost? Lose it.
21. A sudden, forgotten memory. What triggered it?
22. An event your main character doesn't want to attend. Why?
23. Write about a time your main character said "no" and regretted it.
24. Write about a time your main characters said "yes" and regretted it.
25. A neighbor knocks on the door in the middle of the night. Why? 
26. Your main character finds a hidden letter in a used book.
27. Your villain steals something valuable. What and why and how will this change everything?
28. Write about your characters' feelings about children.
29. What was the worst thing a parent or teacher ever said to your main character and how did that affect the rest of their life?
30. Write about a dinner party that includes both your main character as well as your villain.
31. No matter what point you've reached in your story--write the beginning to your sequel!

Tip of the Day: With any writing challenge there's always the temptation to write beyond your daily quota, particularly when you find yourself on a roll and think you could write nonstop for the next twenty-four hours. I can tell you from past experience it's not a good idea. Rather, it's the perfect set-up for burn-out. Writing 7,000 words a day might sound wonderfully productive and impressive and that you're beating the competition, but before you know it, you'll be too tired to keep up the pace for long and will do anything to avoid your next writing session. Worse still, you'll justify not writing because you have "extra words in the bank" you mistakenly think will tide you over. Believe me, I'm all for creative effort, but this is one time slow and steady really does win the race. Good luck, have fun, and don't forget your hat! It's hot out there.

Watercolor Lessons for Writers

I love to write; I love to paint, usually on the same day and often at the same time. Ink and watercolor, stories and images, my mind swirls with so many ideas it's a wonder I can settle down long enough to work on anything. If I could write and draw with both hands, that would be my ideal definition of time management.

Between the two, however, watercolors--no matter how many hands I use--will always be my most difficult challenge. Words come more easily to me than any skill with paint, probably because I consider writing to be talking on paper, and I'm not exactly an introvert when it comes to conversation. After I'd published my how-to book, The Essential Guide for New Writers, I was delighted when one of my writing students said, "The book just sounds like you!"

I don't know to what degree my watercolors "look like me" and I hope it's very little. At the moment they tend to be rather gloomy, not exactly how I want to be pictured for the rest of my life, but let's consider it a phase.

Unlike a manuscript draft which can be rewritten ad nauseum, you only get one chance with watercolors; start gloomy, stay gloomy. There's no going back. Once you begin, there you are. Watercolors simply cannot be "fixed." Whether it's a bug flying into a freshly painted surface, or my hand suddenly dropping a loaded paintbrush onto a pristine area that was meant to remain white, things happen. Yet with every "mistake" I have also discovered I can turn happy accidents into something worth keeping. So what if the white paper is now orange? Call it a sunrise. Bug smears? A vital part of my style.

The other day while I was painting outside on my balcony (not for glamor, but because it's the best place to make a mess), I started thinking about how I would feel if I had to give up one or the other. There was so much I had learned from each discipline and not about technique alone. Patience, realistic expectations, perseverance, these things are integral to my approach to creativity and stem from rock-solid basics:

1. My Favorite Supplies. Every new watercolor painting begins with paper, paint, and brushes, and preferably high quality paper, paint, and brushes. But something I've learned is that quality rarely has anything to do with price. In reality, quality is whatever is the most fun to use. A springy brush from the discount store or a smooth-gliding glitter gel pen can make me want to paint or write all day. Most of my painting disasters have stemmed from using the most expensive supplies because they weren't conducive with what I was trying to do. Student-grade paint, for instance, has turned out to be in many cases much richer in color than pricey "professional" brands. Brown paper bags are an amazing background for painting with opaque watercolors.

It's the same with writing tools: take those gorgeous leather-bound journals you see lined up in bookstores or gift shops. Gilt-edged blank pages, jewel-toned covers; they terrify me! They're so difficult to use: the covers don't fold back enough for writing on the go and the paper can be too textured, making my pen skip, stop, and eventually destroy the pages with ink blots and holes in the paper. For me, the very best journals and notebooks are spiral-bound and have cardboard covers I can collage with my own designs. The paper inside accepts any kind of pen, even an ink-dipped twig. I can't write in anything too genteel, nor with a designer pen that looks great advertised in a magazine, but is so heavy it could double as a snow-shovel. Struggling with supplies because they're beautiful and what "the professionals use," is a surefire way to write or paint nothing at all.

 
2. Work from light to dark. A frustrating aspect of watercolors is how you have to work in layers. It's nearly impossible, for instance, to create a shadow area in a painting with just a single stroke of dark color. To make matters even more frustrating, watercolor has a tendency to always dry lighter than what you thought the color would be. You have to lay down an initial wash, wait for what seems like forever for the paint to dry, and then add another layer of color. And then another. Sometimes this can go on for an entire day!

When we're writing, it's tempting to want to get everything right with only one draft. But more often than not we have to write, and write, and write some more to really achieve the exact meaning of what we're trying to say. Don't give up when you re-read a first, second, or third draft and find it to be too "light" or lacking the depth you want. Keep going. Experiment with different approaches to your subject matter. The main thing to keep in mind is that you will reach the right shade with perseverance. Keep going.

 

3. Let the paint dry! Depending upon where you live, waiting for a watercolor layer to dry can be fast or molasses-slow. In Albuquerque where I'm currently based, I don't have long to wait, but when I was living in Georgia, the humidity kept my paper wet for hours. Whether you're in the desert or at the beach, it's still boring to wait for paint to dry, but it's also essential. The quickest way to create "mud" on the page is to rush into adding fresh paint before the previous layers are dry. My solution has been to work on several pieces at once, which is also the way I write. At any given time I have about three manuscripts in progress: a short story, a journal of ideas and freewriting, and at least one novel. If my enthusiasm wanes for any of it, I can move to something new.

Multiple projects can be helpful with painting, too. If my paper is taking too long to dry, I like to doodle in my sketchbook, or put some color washes onto a new sheet of paper. While the clouds are drying on the first piece, I can start painting the hills on another. It's a handy trick that saves time and keeps me from wanting to rush in too quickly, and thereby destroy, whatever I'm working on.

4. Don't over-mix your colors. A common error many watercolor artists make is over-mixing their colors: putting, say, some blue and red on their palette and stirring it into purple soup. A much better technique is to wet your paper with clean water, then drop in some blue followed by a drop of red and let the two colors find their own chemistry. The ensuing violet shade will be much richer and more interesting than a standard recipe purple.

For writers, over-mixing colors is the equivalent of over-editing. Polishing and rewriting a piece too many times can edit the life right out of it. Sure, you want your words to be clear and understandable, but don't over-strive for perfect grammar or syntax if it's going to end up putting your reader to sleep.

  

5. Use your largest brush. Tiny, delicate paintbrushes are cute and look as if they're exactly what you need for painting hundreds of tree leaves or fur on a cat, but the truth is you can get into terrible trouble by being too finicky. It's a lot more liberating, and exciting, to paint bold and quick with your largest brush no matter how small your paper is. Using a flat, wide brush is the equivalent of freewriting, letting first thoughts, first words spill onto the page in broad strokes and unrestrained, uncensored expression. You can always go back later into a piece with a smaller brush, outlining and emphasizing your details. But start too small and you'll be fussing over your work for hours and days without any visible progress.

Tip of the Day: Find an old manuscript you've put away, one you've given up on either because you were tired of editing it, or tired of marketing it without adequate response. Taking the suggestions listed above as a guide, see if you can apply any of them to your story. Do you need to take a new approach to your theme with some freewriting? Are there scenes that would benefit from added layers of darkness? Have you been using too small of a "brushstroke" to paint your setting or your characters' emotions and reactions? See how far you can go in a new direction. (And don't forget: Extra credit for writers who try some watercolor paintings based on their plot!)

Los Caminos de la Vida

The paths of life

are not what I used to hope

are not what I used to believe

are not what I used to imagine

 

The paths of life

are very hard to travel

they are hard to walk

and I can´t find a way out

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Los Caminos de la Vida

The paths of life,

They are not what I used to think,

They are not what I used to imagine

They are not what I used to believe.

The paths of life,

They are very hard to walk,

They are very hard to travel,

And I can't find a way out. 

 

I hope I am not as desolate as these song lyrics imply, but I have to admit to feeling somewhat lost without my husband. Nothing in my past prepared me for the road of grief and loss; no one ever told me it would be so hard. But that doesn't mean I'm entirely without direction or hope, or that I can't "find a way out."

One of the things helping me to find a way both in- and outward has been my return to reading. Not being able to read during the initial stages of grief is apparently quite common, so finding myself once again enjoying a book has been a huge relief. At the top of my "that was so good!" list is a book recently published by my friend and former writing group member, Suzanne Blazier. In September of 2019, only months before we were all hit by the pandemic, Sue did something I had often dreamed of doing but never had the nerve to try: she walked the Camino Francés, the historic pilgrimage route from  St. John Pied-de-Port, France to Santiago de Campostela in Spain and then on to the Spanish coastal town of Finesterre. 

It was a very long trip. And far more difficult than I realized until I read the full manuscript. From nearly-impassable trails of sharp, jagged rocks to battling constant rain and catching a debilitating cold, it's a miracle Sue came home in one piece at all. Yet, regardless of her challenges (maybe because of them?), Sue managed to find a wealth of beauty and meaning along the way, moments she made time to write about in her insightful journal that eventually became Prancing in the Pyrénées, Sloshing Through Galicia; My Way Along the Camino Francés.

I don't want to give away too much of the story, because I hope you will read Prancing in the Pyrénées for yourself, but I do want to say how much I love this book, and for reasons that have nothing to do with me ever walking the Camino. 

The first time Sue's story inspired me was while her book was still in manuscript form. It was smack in the middle of the pandemic restrictions. All of my writing and art groups had closed down and the only activity open to me was endless walking, something I mentioned in my last post on Urban Writing. Back then I suppose we were each in a separate state of shock, unsure of what was really going on. My "therapy" was to walk every day. Each morning when I would embark upon my solitary and lonely walks, I would imagine I was on the Camino, making a pilgrimage of some sort to understand what on earth was happening. Some days I would walk thinking of how the world could heal itself; other days I would walk in an attempt to figure out what I meant by "healing." Thinking of Sue's trip gave me a reason to walk beyond mere exercise.

Now that the pandemic is over and the manuscript draft is an actual hold-in-your-hands book, Sue's story continues to inspire me. I keep turning over what Sue achieved, thinking of how she did it and how to use the same motivations that kept her going forward. Chapter headings such as "Solitude," "Where are you from?" and "Re-entry" have made me think of how I, as well as other readers, could use these titles as journaling or writing prompts in our own lives. Some ideas that came to mind were:

1. Write a travel memoir of your own. This might seem a bit obvious, but if you focus on trips that were more than "just for fun," what significant journeys have you taken that were deeper than rest and relaxation? How were you changed by travel?

2. What do you need to travel with? What can you leave behind? Besides being an entertaining read, Prancing in the Pyrénées definitely has its practical side. Advice on topics from language skills to what items to bring or leave at home are invaluable tips for anyone seriously planning a Camino pilgrimage. As a dedicated minimalist, I was impressed with Sue's pared-down list of travel items, from clothing to toiletries. There are so many areas in our lives in which we carry too much: shelves of unused art supplies; books on a TBR pile that will never be read; photographs of distant events that mean little or nothing to us. What do we really need to carry, not just for survival, but to be happy?

3. Many years ago when I was still thinking about what it was I most wanted to write, I took take a class on travel writing. At the beginning of the class the instructor explained the origins of the word "travel," saying that it came  from the Old French word "travail" which in turn was a reference to weaving, describing the action of a shuttle carrying thread back and forth through other threads on a loom to create a piece of fabric. To my ears, "travail" was more closely related to "trouble" than travel, but I also have enough horror stories of my own to know how troublesome travel can be! In her book, Sue does an excellent job of sharing her travel-travails and how she overcame them, persevering to complete her trip in the best way possible. Have there been times in your life when you wanted to give up on a project, goal, or dream? What did you do to keep going? How did you encourage yourself? What roads or projects were you forced to abandon? Do you think of re-starting any them, and if so, how could you make that happen?

The Mexican poet and Nobel laureate, Octavio Paz, once wrote that reading is a pilgrimage. He believed that readers are forever changed by what they read, and in turn they cannot help but express that inner change to the world around them. I couldn't agree more. From Sue's book I've learned how vital it is to clear the road for those who follow, write the guidebooks for those need them, and to be as honest and open about our lives as we can be. Whether you plan to walk to Spain or sit reading in the sun with a cup of tea, Prancing in the Pyrénées will be the perfect travel companion.

Tip of the Day: As an additional resource, Sue has also created a blank Camino Journal for pilgrims to take notes and record their days. Although the book is designed for travelers, you might want to think about using it to journal from the prompts I've listed above. Use it to brainstorm your most memorable paths and journeys. What could you write about them? What did you bring home to share?

While you're writing, here is Los Caminos de la Vida in its entirety. It's a sad song, but like so much of life, strangely filled with comfort despite the darkness. That said, may your path be always safe and sure.

Urban Writing

 

Ever since I moved a few years ago to downtown Albuquerque I've done my best to fit in as much walking as I possibly can.  At first I tried walking once a week, choosing different routes and scenery for each separate outing. Then came the pandemic restrictions and I began walking much more frequently, solitary journeys spent exploring the exteriors of closed businesses, locked libraries, and empty churches. It was a somewhat melancholy pursuit, but it was also a healthy way to get fresh air and sunshine and, of course, exercise. It was also a good opportunity to think about my manuscripts and other creative projects without distraction or conversation. Yes, it was lonely, but it was also time well-spent, especially as I would often take photos to later use as reference shots for some at-home urban sketching sessions.

In the last year things have changed considerably. Most places such as cafes and shops are fully open, more people are out walking or bicycling, and the general atmosphere is a lot more upbeat, exactly what you'd expect from a busy urban environment. I love the activity--even if it is more crowded and not as easy to take photos of individual businesses without appearing overly intrusive.

However, the change from "empty deserted street" to "watch where you're going" got me thinking about how fun it would be to switch from "urban sketching" to "urban writing." How could I use what I saw on my daily walks as writing prompts rather than solely as potential scenes for drawing?

A big part of urban sketching is what artists refer to as "reportage." More than simply drawing or painting what you see in front of you, reportage asks that we give an impression of what we feel and think about a scene. In other words, what's the story? And what do we personally bring to the sights we are witnessing? What part of us makes the scene our own?

To explore these topics more fully, I wrote up a list of ideas to get my pen moving:

Urban Story Prompts

• Choose a location and then write a scene that takes place there in the past.
• Take the same location, but now cast it into the future. What has changed? What is better, or worse? What are the people like?
  
• Could the same or a different location be the setting for a fictional crime? What could I add to make it more sinister?
  
• Or how about using that setting for a romantic tryst?
• Is there a particular area I see every day that could be the catalyst for neighborhood dissatisfaction? A place that a group of characters might want to tear down or drastically improve in some way? Why do they want to do this; what's their motivation? What's preventing them accomplishing their goals? Politics? Money?
  
• Choose and use a location as the basis of an important fictional memory for one or more of your characters. It could be an entirely new piece, or woven into something you're already working on.
  
• Create tension by showing a character's fear of a setting, or their excitement at the prospect of going, or returning, there for some reason.
• Invent two characters that have just left the place you are looking at. Why were they there? What transpired? What was their mood when they left?
  
• Use the setting, even if it is a beautiful, elegant environment as the backdrop to a dystopian, Orwellian nightmare.
  
• Or how about as the setting for a whimsical, heart-felt children's picture book?
  
• Imagine the setting at midnight. Add some supernatural or paranormal elements.
• What are the possibilities of using your setting for a nonfiction piece? You might enjoy researching the site or area and then writing about a little-known aspect or history of the place.
  
• Could the setting be an essential part or reason to write a memoir of some sort? Is it a place you know well and therefore holds a wide series of associations for you?
  

Whether or not you are more than familiar with a certain place or are seeing it for the very first time, try to tune into your emotions as you write. As with all the best and most productive freewriting sessions, write about what makes you sad or happy or nostalgic about a certain view or group of buildings. Don't stop to erase, cross out, or censor what comes up for you. Always go with your initial thoughts and instincts.

 

Lastly, be sure to include as many details of your setting as you can: doors, windows, gardens, the cat under the tree, the way light falls on the pavement. You might not want to use absolutely everything you write when it comes time to edit, but it's handy to have a full account to pick and choose from.

Tip of the day: Keep in mind that you don't always have to go for the photogenic or "postcard perfect" scene. Dilapidated, neglected, and forgotten "out of the way" places can often be the most fun to write about. Enjoy your walk and don't forget your notebook!

 

Creating With the Seasons, Part II: Writing

Happy Spring, everyone! Taxes, allergies, never knowing if the weather is hot or cold or simply freezing . . . Yes, it's a wonderful time of the year.

In my last post I wrote about finding ways to use the various seasons as a creative direction for my artwork, especially for the days when I was stuck wondering what to paint. For today's post I want to discuss how to use those same ideas as writing prompts, starting with:

Poetry. Although it's now a few days behind us, April was National Poetry Month and one of the ways I celebrated was experimenting with some haiku. You might recall learning to write one in school, something teachers love to promote as for some lucky reason children seem to excel at the form. In case you missed out on those lessons (say it isn't so!) haiku is a traditional three-line poem from Japan consisting of a five-syllable first line, a seven-syllable second line, and a third and final five-syllable line. One of the most important elements of haiku is that ideally there should be some mention, or at least a reference to the seasons. A good book on the subject that encourages daily haiku writing is Clark Strand's Seeds from a Beech Tree. Even the title to me implies a seasonal sensibility as I imagine all those birch seeds flying around in a spring breeze. Beautiful!

Scenes in your novel. Winter storms; mosquito-infested summer camping trips; constant autumn drizzle . . . all of these things can enhance both the mood and the action of a well-written scene. Not only can seasonal details add plenty of drama or humor, but they can also be what spurs the action: a summer cloudburst destroying a high-society wedding, or the fatal consequences of SADD (Seasonal Attention Deficit Disorder) in a Yorkshire-based murder mystery.

Writing an entire short story or novel set in one specific season. Limiting your timeline to one specific season can both tighten your pacing (e.g., a goal that must be achieved during an explosive summer abroad) as well as amplify your story's theme, e.g., end-of-year gift giving can be the catalyst for a wealth of character reactions, from over-the-top shopping sprees to deep and dark financial woes, all to be dealt with during a single season of joy.

Use the seasons to bookend a story or novel. Begin your story in spring; end in spring twenty years later. Choosing a significant, stand-out season to begin and end a narrative can provide a satisfying sense of closure for both your characters and your readers.

Give your characters passionate reasons to love or hate an individual season. We all have favorite times of the year and so should your characters. Consider how the seasons might affect your characters' health, happiness, and/or plans for the future. What if they need to travel at a certain time of year, but their choices are blocked when they encounter overbooked hotels and flights which then spark entirely new challenges and obstacles to overcome. Or perhaps they suffer from "anniversary syndrome," every year reliving some terrible event from a distant summer that leaves them devastated and struggling to meet any challenges at all.

Seasonal or holiday foods. In some of my previous posts I've written about how much I enjoy books that include descriptions of food or cooking. I like authors who feed their characters as opposed to those who insist their heroine save the world with only a cup of coffee to sustain her, and she drank it three mornings ago. Showing your characters eat or prepare seasonal foods for any given holiday or time of the year is a great way to add metaphoric as well as literal descriptions of culture and character attitude (positive and negative) as seamlessly as possible.

Bundle up, or dress down for comfort. Be sure to keep your characters warm or cool with appropriately seasonal clothing. Then again, if you really want to torture 'em, ensure that they've got it all wrong: a padded raincoat in August; a summer dress for a winter party. I know from experience how difficult it can be to not have the right outfit at the worst possible time. Years ago I traveled to New Zealand in the middle of their winter (American summer) and due to an airline snafu I ended up staying in hot, humid Tahiti for two weeks with a suitcase full of sweaters and socks. Fortunately it was easy enough to buy myself a pareu and a new bathing suit to beat the heat and not stand out like a misinformed tourist, but think about how much trouble you could create for a fictional character in a similar situation. Heat rash, anyone?

Seasonal Journals. There's nothing quite as special as a journal dedicated to capturing the beauty and essence of the seasons. Whether it's an art journal, a travel journal, or a nature or gardening journal, writing down your impressions and activities amidst the changing of the seasons is a journal to keep forever.

Tip of the Day: In case you're considering writing a holiday novel, children's picture book, screenplay, or a series of craft articles for magazines, keep in mind to write and submit your material well in advance of a seasonal publication date. Six months to several years in advance of your chosen holiday is never too early. Some tricks to help with writing about fruit cake while you're sunbathing can include decorating a section of your writing space with a miniature Christmas tree in July, or doing the same with beach towels, sea shells, and resort posters in the depths of winter. Never let what the thermometer reads hinder your imagination.

I Finished My WIP! Now What?

 

© creativecommonsstockphotos / dreamstime.com

It only took about a year longer than planned, but I am happy to announce my work-in-progress novel, Ghazal, is finally, really and truly finished. The End. I made it!

Of course, now the big question is: what's next? Until it's published, is a work-in-progress ever finished? What steps do I, or anyone else who's completed a WIP, have to take in order to get the manuscript into print?

Here's my road map:

1. The first thing I always do upon finishing a manuscript at any draft stage is to print it out and put it away. I make sure I don't even peek at a single page for at least four to six weeks.

2. Once my manuscript is safely locked away, I take a break. Lunch with friends. Shopping, Drawing, beading--even a writing challenge such as Camp NaNoWriMo with a new story in mind can be a refreshing break.

 3. The next step after all those weeks of fun is to take the manuscript out of storage and read the whole thing through, but with this sole promise: that I will not, under any circumstance, write any kind of notes on the manuscript. Instead, I like to have a legal pad and pen ready to list my page and line numbers that contain typos, grammatical blunders, glaring plot holes or character inconsistencies such as wrong birth dates or a jumbled timeline. 

4. When I'm finished with that task, I then transcribe my list item by item onto index cards. I then go through the manuscript and clip my cards to the appropriate pages. I still don't rush to "fix" anything yet. Instead, I continue to let the manuscript rest while I write out the best ways to make my corrections. This is because sometimes rather than fixing a typo I might replace it with a better word choice, or I may eliminate the word altogether. The same goes for plot holes; filling them in too quickly can sometimes lead to an entirely new set of difficulties.

5. When I'm certain that I've found my problem areas, I use the notes on my index cards to make my corrections and then print out a fresh manuscript copy. 

6. My next job is to create a chapter-by-chapter outline. For this I again use index cards and note down the one-to-two most important scenes per chapter. I then type the list into chapter order. At the same time I also like to consider what the purpose of each chapter is. I do this for both my own notes and as a possible addition to the outline if I feel it will shed more light on the individual chapers.

7. Now that I have my outline, I write a one-sentence log line describing my book: a character, what he/or she wants, why they can't have it . . . . Very concise, very simple.

8. From this small start I then write a one-paragraph book description.

9. Followed by a one-page synopsis.

10. Followed by a two-page synopsis.

11. I then write at least three different types of bio-notes: a few sentences; one paragraph; half a page.

12. I research agents, editors, and contests.

13. I then write a query letter based on my synopsis.

14. My final step is to create 12 separate submission packages each one tweaked to individual agent requirements (e.g. one agent wants a letter, a one-page synopsis, the first chapter. Another might want a letter, an outline, a one-paragraph bio and the first 50 pages. Whatever, I like to have each piece prepared for when and how it's needed.)  Once my packages are ready, I send them out, usually by email or through an online submission form.

15. And while my book is doing the rounds, I get to work on my next manuscript. Yep, it never ends!

Tip of the Day: The whole secret to this final stage of manuscript preparation and submission is to remember Rome wasn't built in a day. It's tempting to want to get the whole thing over and done with and as quickly as possible, but baby steps are key. Set aside 30-minutes to an hour a day solely to work on each of the above steps. Take your time and enjoy the process. And keep writing!