Writing

As a writer, your writing is your life. You live, eat, and breathe your writing, your characters, and their journey. You would think nothing could separate you from your work once started and the words just flow from brain to fingers. Yet that is just not true. There are many aspects to the writing life that can cause your focus to wane from your path.

Organizing anything can be a bit daunting, whether it's your house, your computer, or your life. But what about your writing? How do you organize all of your writing tidbits and keep things so they are efficient and easy to find? Well, it may not seem easy at first, but with a little effort and a plan you can achieve an organized writing life.

Once your revising is complete, you can now edit and get into the little details of that process. Another daunting task, but again if you take your time and work through it one at a time, you'll get through it with little frustration.

Your draft is complete and now you are onto the next step...revising! This can sometimes seem like a very daunting task, but if you take is slow, you can make it through without too much stress and heartbreak.

You are about to embark on a journey not only for your character, but also for yourself and your readers. As with any journey, you need to prepare yourself and your character for the trip ahead. The baggage we carry contains so many things. Physically and metaphorically.

When you read a story or watch a movie, the last thing you want is to know every event, action, and emotion that’s coming as you read/or watch. You want those plot twists and story to be a surprise, to be in awe and shocked at the events unfolding on the screed/page.

When things get our of hand around the office, your projects and to-dos suffer due to distractions and overwhelm. With so many things that are vying for our attention these days, especially in a home setting, work gets difficult. Your senses can help.

You already have routines in your life that you do throughout the day subconsciously. Getting up in the morning, you may have a routine to make coffee, eat breakfast, shower, then get ready for work. Even your children have routines for the things they do, but what about a writing routine.

There is so much writing advice out there on the internet and learning to improve your writing skills can seem like a daunting task. But like anything else you try to do, if done in steps it goes a lot easier. Writing is a practiced skill. You may have talent, but learning more never hurts and is always a benefit to your skills.

Going outdoors can encourage a child's creativity with exploration and discovery. When my kids were younger, I would take my work outside to let them play, but as most children do, they wanted to know everything mom was doing. When I said I was writing stories, they wanted to do the same. So, I would stop and write a short story of their creation for them. Now they are old enough to write their own stories.

There are a few different ways to look at storytelling, and depending on who you are and where you grew up, you may have interpreted it in different ways. Though I feel the meanings are very similar and part of every culture around the world to tell stories, import morals, and tell of times past.

Nearly everyone has tried to write something whether it's poetry, a novel, freelance work or some other form of writing. Those that wish to continue their writing career whether for a hobby or professional, here are some great books that will help you along the way.