Hand me a (poetic) pencil

4 Comments »19th February, 2011; Category: Poetry, The Writer's Life

I love pencils.

I always have a good supply of 2B pencils on my desk, and a back up supply in the drawer of my desk. I love the feel of a pencil in my hand as I write. This is especially so when writing poetry.

I almost always use a 2B pencil when composing poems. The sensuality of holding a pencil generates a creativity I rarely get using a pen or a keyboard. After the poem is crafted and has morphed through several drafts, a final copy is then typed up on my computer. Very little changes once I’ve typed it, perhaps only a little formatting and minimal changes to punctuation.

For most of other writing I now use the computer keyboard exclusively. This includes stories, novels, essays, articles and blog posts. I just do not have the time (or the patience) to compose in pencil or pen first. I may occasionally jot down notes or an outline in pen or pencil, but I’ve also done that on the computer. It’s a necessary part of being productive.

What do my readers use when writing?

I’d be interested in hearing your comments.

Good writing.

Story endings

3 Comments »9th August, 2009; Category: Short Stories, The Writer's Life

Quite often I get readers of this blog leaving questions in the comments section. That is great and I appreciate the feedback and try to help people with their writing problems.

Occasionally I also get readers leaving ideas from which I can benefit too. This is also great. Louise was one such reader today. Here is what she wrote:

You’ve just solved my problem! I have lots of short stories written – but with no ending! I get ideas for stories but then they sort of fizzle out.

Just for fun, I am going to create my own ‘final sentences’ and maybe something will click and maybe, they’ll trigger more ideas for short stories!

Thanks!

It must be a little discouraging to have lots of unfinished stories. Please, please, please don’t throw them away. They could well be the seeds of longer works later.

Another suggestion is to leave an unfinished story filed away for a few weeks or even months, then come back to it with almost “fresh” eyes and ears. You read that correctly – EARS. Read the unfinished story out loud – better yet – get someone you trust to read it to you. That story will have been ticking away in your subconscious for ages and might well be ready to mature into a complete story. The creative mind can be quite amazing at times.

Another suggestion: a commonly used technique is to ask the simple question: “What happens next?” or even “What if…?”

And how about “interviewing” your main character? You might be surprised what that character will say, or come up with.

You could also ask yourself the question: “What does the main character really want? What motivates her? How will he get what he wants? And what or who is hindering fulfilling those wants or desires? These could be triggers to get you writing again.

Hope this all helps.

Good writing.

Related article:  Short story endings