Welcome to my blog, Write To Live. This is a blog dedicated to the literary works of Michael Beers as well as an informational blog about writing.

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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Snowstorms Galore

Is it just me or am I going to rejoice in the end of winter?
This winter has been one of the worst I have ever remembered.  Once things have finally warmed up, we end up getting another ton of snow.  And it's on a day when I was going to be giving a presentation to our college's Writer's Guild.

WILL IT EVER END?!

I swear, I need to write a story about it.  Then again, that doesn't make for a bad idea....

WRITER'S TIP OF THE WEEK

Inspiration, it's everywhere.  When you get stuck, you need to look at events around you and find a way to exploit it into a story.  For example, the snow I am getting up here could be made into a great story (and I'm formulating the idea as I write this).

So, for an exercise, try to write out what is happening in your life.  Then, see if you can try to use each one as a title of a story.  If you can't seem to get started with it, try writing out more details about each event and see what stems from there.


WRITER'S BLOCK HELPER

The snow poured down upon the ground, calling young James to bed.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"You fail only if you stop writing."
~Ray Bradbury

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Busy, Busy, Busy

It seems like my life is getting full of stuff I have to do anymore.  Between school work, volunteering, working on starting a Writer's Guild at the college, work, and writing, I am finding fewer hours in the day to work on everything I want to work on.  5 classes in 1 semester should not be considered full time here.  It's filling up my life with a lot of work and I'm just hoping I don't burn out before the semester's over.  I'm already about 1/3 of the way through.  I just need to push on ahead and finish up.

WRITER'S TIP OF THE WEEK

One way which has kept me sane and on track with my creative writing is scheduling out time to actually write.  I really suggest writer's do this every day so they can continue to improve their skills.  Isaac Asimov took a 9-5 approach to writing and he had hundreds of books published.

My suggestion for breaking down your scheduled time should be this way.

1/3 for brainstorming
1/3 for writing
1/3 for revising

So, for the first part of your writing time, you should be brainstorming of new stories.  This kind of stuff helps to not only build the number of stories you can write (and perhaps sell), but it will help prepare your mind to write and get the creative juices flowing.  Then, working on writing will keep the creativity going while changing your focus to a more formal format.  Finally, revision is key to ensure the story stays on track, so it goes at the end because there are times you can use new information you may have thought of before to make the story come alive in a different way.


RANDOM SENTENCE OF THE WEEK

The cloak surrounded the dark mage, almost seeming to engulf his very existence.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

I wonder sometimes if the motivation for writers ought to be contempt, not admiration
~Orson Scott Card

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Progress!

Yes, progress indeed.  I have finished up the rough drafts of two more stories, making 4 short stories now in the revision process.  This should be interesting if I can get them all finished by March (I won't know what to submit to Writers of the Future by then).  But, at least I am breaking through the barriers of writer's block and working on getting several of my short stories finished.  On the other hand, I don't want to get so back-logged it makes revisions into a damned pain.

Which leads me into the writing tip of the week...

Get organized

Yes, I hate to admit to it since I am one of the must unorganized people around, but you need to at least set a game plan on writing and revising them.  Without that, you'll end up with tons of rough drafts and an overwhelming revision ahead of you (believe me, it's not fun).

So far, I'm trying to bang out each story's revisions every week.  If they need more than one, they just go to the end of the list.  Rotation between stories will also help because they will allow your mind to remove itself from the story and, once you get back to it, have a fresh perspective.


Random Sentence of the Week

The cold wind seemed so inviting to Richard, calling him to shut his eyes.


Quote of the Week

"I don't try to describe the future.  I try to prevent it."
~Ray Bradbury