Try Writing a Passionate Opinion Piece One of my biggest challenges in writing has been finding my voice. For years I struggled to even understand what was meant by “voice.” If I wrote marvelous, well-crafted sentences, wasn’t that enough? Well, no, voice matters, and it’s something that does not come easily to most. Voice is the indistinguishable […]
If you’ve been hesitant to write fiction or nonfiction because it might negatively portray a loved one, I urge you to examine your motivations. If you’re so angry you need to vent “on paper,” then vent your little heart out, but don’t publish what pours out. Write furiously, then set those pages on fire, literally. Doing so sends psychically transports the blame to the perpetrator—and sets you free.
If you’ve been stalled, or blocked, or wondering if your scribblings amount to more than a hill of beans—when the whole world is on fire—please let me be the one to tell you that they do. If you love writing, keep at it. What you produce doesn’t even matter. It’s the writing practice that will keep you sane.
This “novel virus” reaffirmed that my life won’t feel sufficiently meaningful again until I develop a renewed sense of purpose. Writing has always provided that for me, and I’d discarded my writing practice as if it were an empty, battered suitcase at the end of a journey. Hell, I’d thrown it over a cliff.
Mindfully Meditate, then Write Thanks to Coronavirus, our reptilian brains are scanning for danger and sensing it everywhere. The resultant, almost constant flight-or-fight responses likely cause muscle tension, headaches, upset stomachs, racing heartbeats, shallow breathing, and difficulty concentrating long enough to read, let alone write. We need to counteract anxiety by relaxing, but bingewatching and […]
Your reptilian brain is in overdrive, as are your flight or fight hormones, which make it a challenge for your cortex to function at its peak capacity.
A recent study on 138 undergraduate students investigated the relationship between creativity and different aspects of thought patterns presumed to influence the preparation and illumination phase of the creative process. Aspects of thought patterns they studied included: How much one relied on habitual patterns of thought, such as ruminative brooding and/or ruminative self-reflection. Whether one […]
All writers are creative, right? They are if they meet certain criteria. But what is that criteria? That’s a question researcher Jordanous Keller wanted to answer. So he conducted an empirical study and analysis of language commonly used to talk or write about creativity[1]. Using tools from natural language processing and statistical analysis, he and […]
As a writer, words and language are some of the most essential tools we use to tell a story. The words, phrases, sentence structure, and style we use can take us from being a writer who tells an interesting story to a superb writer who mesmerizes, surprises, and delights our readers. Turns out that learning […]
The Tethered Angel stood in front of a stone tomb in Oakland, California’s Mountain View Cemetery. Her nose and mouth had been worn away and the tip of one wing had been cleanly broken. She wore a long gown, the hem of its top layer gathered in one hand. Her hair fell in one long […]
Fire Up Your Writing Brain 