Category: Writing

“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve thought there was something noble and mysterious about writing, about the people who could do it well, who could create a little world as if they were little gods or sorcerers.” ~Anne Lamott

Anne nailed it, y’all. Nailed it like she crawled into my head and dragged out my thoughts that she turned into her words there. Here’s to the never-ending process of becoming a little god of our own fictional worlds – the hardships, the thrill, the self-doubt, and the magic.

Chris Baty on Why We Try to Endure Difficult, Boring Books

~ Wendy ~ Leave a comment

We buy these difficult books because we feel that, while not very exciting, they are in some way good for us. It's sort of literature-as-bran-flakes philosophy. If something is dry and unpalatable, it must be doing something good for our constitutions. ~Chris Baty, No Plot, No Problem  

What do exercise, veggies, and writing have in common?

~ Wendy ~ Leave a comment

I wrote up a little something on The Daily Post…I hope you’ll check it out. 🙂

The Daily Post

Part of the mission that drives The Daily Post is to provide encouragement and inspiration to people who want to be more active writers, bloggers, and creators. We often provide tips on how to write or prompts on what to write, but today, let’s talk about why to write.

Science stands firmly in support of what many of us intuitively know: writing is good for you.

Studies have shown that just the act of putting words together to express yourself leads to several physical and mental health benefits, including:

  • Improved mood and sense of well-being
  • Decreased stress and anxiety levels
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Better memory and sleep

Writing has been shown to boost immune responses, speed post-surgical healing, and help cancer patients cope with their diagnosis and treatment. Writing has also been linked to improvements in managing chronic conditions such as asthma and arthritis.

A note about privacy: If you prefer to…

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An A-musing Muse

~ Wendy ~ 2 Comments

This might possibly be the best, most entertaining description of a writer's muse ever. The time to try [something new] is when your muse kicks open your office door, stomps across the floor in her combat boots, blows the piece of her feather boa from where it was stuck to the corner of her mouth, … Continue reading An A-musing Muse

NaNoWriMo 2014 (Or: What am I, crazy?)

~ Wendy ~ 4 Comments

I must be crazy, but I'm doing this. What is NaNoWriMo, you may be asking? It's a commitment—perhaps even a dare—to write at least a novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days. Find out more here and sign up if you're game to join me in my craziness. Although I've thought of doing … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2014 (Or: What am I, crazy?)

Art and the Art of Noise

~ Wendy ~ 2 Comments

I came across an article in the October issue of Mental Floss (one of my fave magazines) about the role that ambient noise plays in fostering creativity. The article says this: According to a University of Chicago study, moderate noise helps creativity by slowing down the speed at which we process information. The lag keeps … Continue reading Art and the Art of Noise

Perversity of Spirit

Prove them all wrong
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Perversity of Spirit Talent is the least important thing about a writer, compared to a love of books, which must be deep and abiding. The only thing a writer really needs is perversity of spirit, the emotional equivalent of a cartoon character's bouncy springiness, so that after being run over or blown up—or, in the … Continue reading Perversity of Spirit

Entitlement

~ Wendy ~ 2 Comments

...entitlement is the enemy of artistic progress, which requires patience and gratitude, and above all, humility. You don't grow as a writer by writing off other people's efforts. You grow as a writer by respecting the process. This quote comes from "The Problem of Entitlement", an article by Steve Almond, which was featured in the … Continue reading Entitlement

Announcing Writing 201: Finding Your Story

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Looking for a jumpstart or some fine tuning for your writing? Check out the free Finding Your Story course through WordPress.com., starting July 21.

The Daily Post

I’m all for the scissors. I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.

— Truman Capote

Last month, we hosted Writing 101: Building a Blogging Habit, a write-every-day course over twenty days. Writing 101 focused on building a daily habit, experimenting with different kinds of writing, and engaging with others in the Commons. A finished product — a published post — wasn’t necessarily the ultimate goal, but more the result of working and thinking through the challenges we shared each day.

As we noticed in Writing 101, all of you have stories to tell. But sometimes it’s a challenge translating our life experiences into stories. We don’t spend enough time reflecting and rewriting, especially in our digital age where social media and other technologies push us daily to react, keep up, and keep moving.

A course on rewriting and editing

Roald Dahl once said that “good writing is essentially rewriting,” and…

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Quote: The Beautiful Part of Writing

~ Wendy ~ 1 Comment

The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile. ~ Robert Cormier This goes well with a bit of advice I came across a few years … Continue reading Quote: The Beautiful Part of Writing