Writing Hint #19 Practice every day

All professional sports people regularly practice the skills relevant to their discipline on a daily basis. They practice the same skills over and over. Musicians spend many hours in practice for even a small performance. Orators rehearse their speeches, actors go over their lines developing all the nuances of the words their parts demand. Firefighters practice their firefighting skills, emergency workers rehearse what to do in different scenarios. Practice of basic skills is a requirement in so many professions.

Do you practice your writing skills?

Here are some ways to practice your writing:

  • Write for ten minutes in a journal.
  • Write about what you plan to do for the day.
  • Write about how you feel about the main news story of today
  • Think of a name – any name – and assign that name to an imaginary person. Write for ten minutes about that person.
  • Think of some place you would like to be right now. Write about that place and why it is so special to you.
  • Think of a species of bird, or an animal. Write for ten minutes all you know about that animal or bird.

The writing possibilities like this are endless, merely restricted only by your imagination.
Angela Booth on her blog has written about what she does to practice her writing skills in this article:

Are you afraid to write?

I’d never thought about being afraid of writing until I read an article on Angela Booth’s Writing Blog. But when I thought about it there is quite a deal of anxiety surrounding the writer’s life.

Some of these fears could include:

  • Fear of starting – call it writer’s block, procrastination or whatever, this fear plagues so many writers.
  • Fear of finishing – never sure that the written piece is good enough to be thought worthy of being published, constant revising being the symptom.
  • Fear of rejection – never sending any manuscripts off to publishers because you might be rejected.
  • Fear of ridicule – putting out some of your writing into the public arena is like undressing in a shopping mall; people will see you for what you really are, warts and all.
  • Fear of Success – perverse as it might seem this is a very real fear. Some people are genuinely afraid of the demands of being in the spotlight, of being public property and being seen as a role model. It is the same kind of fear that makes strong men shake in terror when a microphone is placed in their hands.

Links:

Related articles worth reading:

Writing Crime Fiction: Kirsty Brooks

Kirsty Brooks is an Adelaide based writer of crime and romance novels. On her blog she has published a long and useful article on how to write crime fiction. The article covers many aspects of the craft and she includes the following topics:

  • pace and action
  • protagonist
  • conflict
  • motivation
  • setting
  • characters
  • suspense
  • point of view
  • plot
  • dialogue
  • general hints
  • writing tips – five important tips to help the writer be successful.

Click on the link to read the whole article:

Link:

Idiom #8: In Cloud Cuckoo Land

This week’s idiom:

“In cloud cuckoo land.”

Origins:

This idiom is a translation of the name of an imaginary city in a play called The Birds written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes in the fifth century BC. In this city the birds built in the air.

Meaning:

Anyone who lives “in cloud cuckoo land” has lost their grip on reality. Their thoughts or words or actions seem to be divorced from the ordinary aspects of life. In everyone’s estimation they are somewhat crazy, or misguided or just plain silly.

Example:

“If he thinks he will sell his house for that much, he is living in cloud cuckoo land.”

See also mt article “What is an idiom?

Short Fiction #26 The Woodcutter

The Woodcutter
The sound of chopping reached Samuel’s ears. He ventured further into the forest. Soon he found the source of the noise.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Chopping down this tree, my good man,” replied his old friend Alexander.
“Pray tell; why are you doing that?”
“This tree is needed for a lofty purpose,” explained Alexander.
“And what wouldst that noble purpose be?”
“Its reason for standing here two hundred years or more is for just this moment. Please observe. Is not winter coming? This old dead tree will keep my family cosy this winter. Meanwhile, it keepeth me both strong and warm.”

All rights reserved. Copyright 2006 Trevor W. Hampel.