What are you doing now? Write that down. Write the words “Before that…” Then write down something that happened before you were doing whatever it is you are doing now. Try not to plan ahead. An idea will always pop into your head as you write the words "Before that..." Again, write those words: “Before that…” Again, tell about something that occurred before the last … [Read more...] about Before that…
Your Precious Hands
Your writing practice should never, ever make your hands hurt. Ever. Never. How can you write without getting the tired old aches they call “writers cramp?" Everybody is different, so you have to figure that out for yourself. The basic principle is simple: when it hurts, change something so that it doesn't. You can change the way you sit or how you hold the pen. You … [Read more...] about Your Precious Hands
Using Writing Prompts
A prompt is a push. Its purpose is to get you going. Where you go and how you get there are up to you. The one thing you don’t want to do in your writing practice is to sit there trying to decide what to write. Strange as it seems, more writing ideas will come to you while you are writing than while you are wondering what to write. A writing prompt gets the writing … [Read more...] about Using Writing Prompts
Evaluation
The key part of evaluation is value. So when you evaluate your writing, you are looking for its value. You ask, “What is valuable to me?” Read slowly through all the pages you have written. What strikes you about it? Of the many styles of writing you have tried, which do you prefer? Most importantly, as you consider what you have done, what do you like? What would you … [Read more...] about Evaluation
Such a Useful Body!
Draw an outline of a body (your body!) on a clean sheet of paper. Then label the parts. For each body part that you label, add a short explanation of what that body part does for you. Label as many body parts as you can, telling how each part makes your life better—or possible! Don’t stop until you have run out of room. Then add the date to the page and give it a … [Read more...] about Such a Useful Body!