Oxymorons
2 Comments »20th February, 2009; Category: The Writer's Life, Writer's block, Writers, Writing Hints
I love Oxymorons.
They fascinate me. Sometimes they are really funny, sometimes serious and often thought provoking. Here is a brilliant one I came across recently in our daily newspaper. It speaks volumes to writers.
PROCRASTINATE NOW!
Yes.
Writers take note: procrastination will kill your writing career.
Stop dithering and get on with it.
Go on – stop wasting time here and get on with your writing.
Further reading:
- Oxymorons – an article I wrote some time ago explaining what they are, with some examples.
Good writing: and stop putting it off.
What I learned from mowing grass
No Comments »18th February, 2009; Category: The Writer's Life, Writer's block, Writing Hints, Writing prompts
My home is situated on five acres (2 hectares) on the outskirts of a country town in South Australia. We have a small orchard, about two acres of bushland scrub and the remainder is open grassland. Many years ago it was used for grazing sheep.
We used to have five sheep, but they had an accident and ended up in the freezer. The sheep did a good job in keeping the grass down and mowing was unnecessary. It’s a different story now. In spring and early summer the grass and weeds grow quickly, sometimes up to waist high, depending on the winter rains. Of necessity I bought a ride-on mower a few years ago. It was a good move.
What has this to do with writing?
Plenty.
I learned a great deal about writing from mowing the grass.
Get a spark of an idea
Last spring the grass needed mowing. It was becoming a fire hazard as it dried in the warm sun. I went to start the mower – nothing.
Not a spark. The battery was flat. It wasn’t going anywhere.
Our writing can be like that. It seems to be going nowhere; in fact, some days it just won’t even start. Sometimes it needs a jump start to get it going. Take a break. Make a cup of tea or coffee. Go for a walk. Read a book for ten minutes. Then come back refreshed and ready to get it going again.
Get some outside help
Even though I charged the battery of my ride on mower, it still wouldn’t start. I tried everything I know about mowers and motors and batteries (which isn’t much – more of a short, short story actually). It needed professional help. I loaded it up on the trailer and took it to the dealer, a specialist in mower maintenance. That did the trick. He knew exactly how to solve the problem, giving me a few maintenance hints as well. Get some professional help with your writing. This is where networking and writers’ groups can be so beneficial. If necessary you may even need to pay to have your manuscript professionally assessed.
Eliminate the rubbish
When the mower was home again I got busy. There was plenty of grass that needed mowing before the summer fire danger season. Round and round I went mowing happily until… until the mower stopped mowing efficiently. What the… ? I stopped and looked down: the cutting area was clogged up with matted dry grass. The blades couldn’t do their job properly.
Is your writing clogged with rubbish? Words that don’t fit, or redundant sentences. Paragraphs that are really run-on sentences going nowhere. Wordy descriptions that “tell and don’t show.” Spelling and grammatical errors that readers – not to mention editors – will trip over and curse you for their sore knees.
Shed some light on your work
Sometimes I was enjoying the mowing so much the sun set on me and it started getting dark. The mower has two headlights but they don’t shed much light on the path ahead. I had to shut down, put the mower away and start again the next day.
Sometimes with our writing we get eyes that are dimmed through tiredness or trying too hard for too long. Put it away over night, or for a few days, and come back in the light of a new day. Instantly you will see where you were having troubles with a piece of writing and be able to correct it and move on.
Be sure to top up the fuel tank
My mower sometimes runs out of fuel. The gauge is on the side of the tank where I can’t see it from where I sit. It leaves me in no doubt about what is happening. It splutters to a stop with no warning. Sometimes it is a long walk back to the shed to get fuel.
Has your writing ever sputtered to a sudden stop, going nowhere? It is then time to refuel. Take a short holiday completely away from the work that is bogging you down. Go for a long walk every day. Set aside a day or two just for reading a novel. Stop and refuel by listening to music. Walk on the beach. Let the wind blow through your hair. See a movie or two or three. Visit a friend and have a good yarn about anything except your writing. Then come back fully refueled and ready to go on with your writing.
Good writing.
Dealing with the drudgery of writing
“The drudgery of being a professional writer comes in
trying to make good days out of bad days and in
squeezing out the words when they won’t just flow.”~Benjamin Cavell
I know how this writer feels.
Sometimes the words just flow easily and on days like that it is the most wonderful thing in the world to be a writer. It is exciting when a piece of writing just works so beautifully that little or no rewriting is needed. It is exhilarating when you read something you’ve written and you are amazed that you put those words together in just the right way. It is wonderful when you get everything just right.
It isn’t always like that.
There are days when it is sheer drudgery, when you are feeling ill, or lethargic or just plain tired. Or there might be some life issue pressing in on your thinking and sapping the creative energies. In the bad days I’ve found a few solutions that work for me. Try them – you may well find that they work for you too.
Overcoming the bad days
- Take a break – even five minutes can help.
- Stretch – your muscles will love you.
- Look at the birds – stare out the window and observe the birds.
- Go for a walk – around the garden, the block or wherever.
- Write in your journal – it doesn’t have to be great literature – just let your feelings all pour out.
- Do the crossword in the newspaper – I find that the cryptic crossword so stimulating I try to complete it daily.
- Nap – sometimes the brain needs the refreshment of a short sleep. (Take note of the word “short.”)
- Read – the mental stimulation can be very beneficial.
- Laugh out loud – read some jokes – or watch a part of a funny DVD.
- Pray – I find that prayer focuses the mind on connecting with God and this often leads to renewed inspiration. Others might find meditation to be useful in calming the mind enabling it to refocus on the writing task.
These ideas work for me. I hope that you find techniques that work for you.
Good writing.
Further reading:
Writing when the wheels are spinning
I’ve had about four weeks of frustration with my writing and blogging. I feel like my wheels are spinning; lots of activity but I’ve been going nowhere.
Actually, the driving analogy is very apt. I seem to have done nothing but drive over recent weeks. I do occasional relief driving for a local courier company. I recently went back to work full time for three weeks. While the pay was good, the hours were very long and the work exhausting. Not a good time for writing. In fact, there was little time spare for writing. I’m still trying to catch up with my email.
I’ve been trying to get back to the writing this week but I have really struggled to build momentum again after such a long break. I will not call it the dreaded “writer’s block” but it was not far from it. Many writers experience dry periods where it is a struggle to get the writing moving again. There may be plenty of activity – like the engine revving and the wheels spinning – but there is little if any forward movement. Sometimes we just can’t get going.
Robert over at the Middle Zone Musings writes about this topic too. His post called “How to counter the dreaded blankpageitis.” In this post he refers to my short story starters. These posts I have written are designed to get you writing so what about it? Give it a go – it can be great fun.
Good writing.
Another article worth reading – with several suggestions I know help me can be found here: Life sucks – writing on the bad days.