An Exercise to Set Your Writer's Voice Free

 The members of my online writing group are offered a freewriting exercise each week. A word is chosen at random, sometimes by opening a book and pointing at a word on the page. Other times, someone selects a series of connecting words for the month, such as the four seasons. 

What do we do with 'the word'? The exercise calls for the writer to start writing without stopping. Anything that comes to mind for ten minutes. It can also be done using fifteen-or- twenty-minute time slots. The important thing is to keep writing, no stopping to think, just let the words flow as your fingers fly over the keyboard (or pencil on paper). Nothing has to connect, and sometimes it ends up mere drivel. Other times, we find a golden nugget.

Many of us have ended up with the bones of an essay or story through this exercise. It's a good way to warm-up before you begin whatever project you're working on. Today's poster tells us that a freewriting exercise will 'set your writer's voice free.'

There are many writers who shun writing exercises. The thinking is that they don't do anyone any good and waste good writing time. After reading so many of my fellow writers results of the freewriting exercise, I can see the benefit that can result. I also note it in the ones I have written. Our subconscious kicks in, and it's sometimes amazing what results. 

Give the exercise a try using the words listed below:

A. reminiscent

B. brother

C. school

D. storm

E. baby

F. train

G. circus

There are seven words listed above, one for each day of your week. As an alternative, you can open a book or magazine, close your eyes and point to a word. If the word is something like 'is or the' take the one before or after. 

One of the best essays I've written emerged from a freewriting exercise. 

Adverbs Are Far Too Easy to Use

 

In school, we learn the parts of speech. Each one, we were told, has a job to do in the sentences we write. That's a pretty simplified version of learning a piece of grammar. But it will serve as an introduction to what I want to talk about today. 

Writers toss adjectives around a sentence to describe a person, place or thing--in other words, a noun. They also sprinkle adverbs into their dialogue tags with glee. They, too, are descriptive. How easy is it to have a character speak and then add an adverb in the tag line to let the reader know how the dialogue was spoken. Did John Doe speak his line harshly, happily, sadly, glumly, gleefully, angrily or some other ly word that describes a verb? Or sometimes writers use the one word adverb when a character does something. The writer wants us to know how the character performed whatever it might be. Easy enough to add one simple word. Maybe.

Using adverbs in this way speaks of a lazy writer. It tells us how the subject feels. It's far better to show what the speaker is feeling or doing. Dump the adverb and add something to show the same thing. If you do, you have a far more visual image. Adverbs can modify adjectives and other adverbs and not all end in ly, although a great many do so. 

Examples:

A. OK:   John shut the door slowly.

   BETTER:  John inched the door until it closed.

B. OK:  Sally ran to school quickly.

    BETTER:  Sally ran to school faster than a jackrabbit in the desert.

C. OK:  Sam turned suddenly.

    BETTER:  Sam slid to a stop and turned the corner.

D. OK:  "I want to go home," Joanie said loudly.

    BETTER:  Joanie shrieked, "I want to go home"

E. OK: "I don't know," Buddy whispered softly.

    BETTER:  Buddy's voice softened to a bare whisper. "I don't know." 

Do you see that the second sentence in each example is more visual? Tells the reader more? Is more interesting? 

If you want to learn more about using adverbs or replacing them, use a search engine like google to find more detailed articles. 

Writers--Don't Give Up!

 

A couple weeks ago, I noticed a sign stuck in the grass outside a preschool, and an identical one across the street in front of a house. A white sign, with large black letters on it. Nothing else. No curlicues, no flowers in the corners, no zig-zag lines. Just three words.

The two identical signs said Never Give Up. They're on a street I drive down frequently, and I've taken note of them over and over again. The first time, I thought that it was some good advice. After a while, I started thinking a lot about those words. Being me, I thought about that advice being something writers could benefit from. 

Writers get discouraged at times. New writers, seasoned writers, writers of all ages and backgrounds. When things don't work out with a new story idea, some feel ready to quit, give it up, find something new to write about. When rejections pile up, they feel despondent. When publications are at a standstill, they become depressed. A whole lot of writers wend their way through this emotional maze. 

What should you do when you're in a funk like that? Well, those three little words are a good place to start. I've noticed that every time I drive by those signs, that bit of advice speaks louder and louder to me. How about taking a sheet of white printer paper and writing those three words with a black marker in big letters? Then, place it somewhere in your writing area. You can't help but look at it every day. Black on white, three words of encouragement. 

Be determined to use those three words of advice in your writing life. Even when good things happen, like a great response from an editor, or comments from readers who loved a piece you wrote, or a story idea seems to almost write itself, keep those three words where you see them every day. 

I don't know who put those two signs in the ground in my town, but I think they will speak to a great many people who drive by on a regular basis. Three little words that make you think, pep you up, and give you a reason to keep going. Put those three words in your writing space and see what happens.