Karinwritesdangerously

« A room without books is like a body without a soul. » Cicero

« The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.” Voltaire

Bravo, Cicero! Well said, Voltaire! I’ve taken their words to heart—just about every room in my house is awash in books. My beloved sister Judy once said to me, “Karin, you think you can find everything in a book.” In a way, she was right: When I see the world through others’ eyes and hearts, I learn about my own life and how I want to live it. 

Books not only nourish heart and soul. As Voltaire pointed out, the instruction they give us is “like fire,” which we kindle in ourselves and then pass on. That’s how I think of my set of writing guides perched on a shelf outside my office, which I dip into for inspiration.

And classic stories I’ve turned to for help in crafting my children’s novel have taught me something valuable that I’ve used to enrich my story and make my characters come alive. 

Pride and Prejudice by the peerless Jane Austen gave me a master class in plot development: After analyzing it, I revamped my novel’s structure. Anne of Green Gables helped me discover the qualities that make for an appealing young heroine. Then there’s one of my all-time favorites, The Secret Garden. Reading this 100+ year old classic several times taught me to trust my own intuition in believing that lyrical language can be a powerful world-building tool.

How about you? As you craft your short story, novel, film or play, are there authors who’ve taught you valuable writing lessons? If so, I’d love to hear about books have fired your imagination as we all write on!

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“Spring is the time for plans and projects.” Leo Tolstoy

“It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the spring, who reaps
a harvest in the autumn.” B. C. Forbes

Robins in the grass. Buds on the trees. Crocuses by the walk. Spring is here! I’ve just put away my winter coat and boots. How about you? 

Speaking of springtime and new beginnings, tips on freshening up our writing arrived in my email box a while ago and brought a smile to my face, so I’m passing on a few ideas you might find inspiring:

Inventory your ongoing projects and organize your computer files: I don’t know about you, but I have lots of unfinished projects floating around my computer: My desktop is looking pretty cluttered. Think it’s time to do a little digital dust-off and see what’s what. It might not be a bad idea to also organize my computer files for easier access. 

Plant some submission seeds: After reviewing your pending projects, you may find a couple that you can move from “stalled” to “submitted” with a bit of fine-tuning. There’s nothing like having a few stories or poems out and about to make you feel like you’re making progress.

Break free of your comfort zone: Spring is all about energy, growth, shaking things up. Learning something new by taking a class can give you a fresh outlook. Whether it focuses on writing, exercising, or pottery making, it can be energizing, physically and mentally. Who knows where it might take you?

“Freshen up the season with new ideas. Sure, you spend time on your works in progress. But what about generating new projects? Why not spend some creative time on new stories, poems, and books? Who knows what seed you can sow that may bear rich fruit!

Let’s bloom where we are planted — and write on!

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“Will to win and keep on willing, and you will possess a power that is as real as a cannonball. You can’t see it. You can’t lay your hands on it. You can barely describe it. But it will make you irresistible.” Dale Carnegie

“Will and act until victory.” Paramahansa Yogananda

Our boy Dale knew a lot about the power of will power. For years, he bounced around like a loose cannonball: At different stages in his life, he was an actor, a salesman, an event manager, a huckster, a novelist. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he failed. But whatever the immediate outcome, he always learned something and applied it. 

Eventually, he found his calling as a motivational public speaking instructor — and, after 20-odd years of honing his skills, he poured out everything he’d learned from his checkered career. The result: How to Win Friends and Influence People, an instant bestseller which ranks among the world’s top self-help guides and still sells briskly. 

We can learn a lot from Dale about grit and staying power — qualities we all need to survive and succeed as writers:

He was never afraid to fail: Dale always started out with grand plans and schemes: His hope for success was high. When things fell apart, it was shocking, but never a fatal blow, because Dale always managed to extract useful knowledge and apply it the next time around. He had more than one losing streak, but his will to win never flagged.

He relied on mentors: At every stage of his life, Dale encountered people whose experience he valued; if their advice seemed sound, he took it. A student in one of his public speaking classes worked for Simon & Schuster and persuaded Dale to turn his series of talks into a book: That’s how the idea for the classic Winning Friends was born. 

He was always writing: Early in his checkered career, one constant emerged: Dale loved to write. He was constantly learning and taking notes from books he valued. At one point, he wrote six hours a day. Everything he learned from honing his craft helped him when he sat down to shape the book that would make him famous. Dale’s first royalty check was a staggering $90,000!

Let’s be irresistible! Let’s fail forward, find mentors, keep writing: We can do this! Let’s be creative cannonballs and write on!

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“I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out.” Oscar Wilde

Is it kosher to begin a sentence with a conjunction? There was a time when the answer was absolutely not! A sentence starting with a conjunction was viewed as incomplete — as a fragment. 

However, even once-sacred grammatical rules change. Most modern fiction writers now agree that using a conjunction to open a sentence is perfectly acceptable. In fact, many accomplished writers violated this long-standing “rule” even in its heyday.

Back to coordinating conjunctions. Among the most common are “for,” “and,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” “so,” and “nor.” Writers typically use these little critters to increase the dramatic impact of a sentence or to emphasize a thought:

I really wanted to see Sarah. But who would stay with Susie?

Do you use a comma after a coordinating conjunction used to open a sentence? Generally speaking, the answer is no — not unless an interrupter phrase (Ex.: And, in fact,) immediately follows it. One exception: the word “So,” is followed by a comma when it opens a sentence because it’s often used to sum up a previous thought:

So, despite all her excuses, she completed the job.

The bottom line: Based on current convention, as a creative writer, you are free to begin a sentence with “and,” “but,” or “yet.” As with all literary constructions, however, it’s probably wisest to use this approach gingerly — otherwise, it will lose its impact. 

And one last note: In certain instances: a formal communication, business writing, or an academic paper, it’s best to adhere to the classic Elements of Style advice of Strunk and White and avoid starting sentences with conjunctions or using sentence fragments. 

So, armed with these helpful tips, write on!

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In honor of National Poetry Month, one of my favorite poems, which always makes me think of spring:

Daffodils

by William Wordsworth

I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once, I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves besides them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For, oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

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“Poetry is the music of the soul.” Voltaire

April showers bring May flowers, surely something joyous and uplifting to celebrate. The month of April also offers another delight: National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world. Coast to coast, millions of poetry lovers: students, teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, and writers take part in events to highlight the importance of poetry in American culture and our everyday lives. 

It seems fitting that April, the birth month of William Wordsworth, Maya Angelou, George Herbert, Walter de la Mare, and William Shakespeare, among others, is given extra special attention.

Inspired by successful celebrations of February’s Black History Month and March’s Women’s History Month, the Academy of American Poets founded National Poetry Month in 1996 with several goals in mind:

To celebrate the legacy and achievements of American poets;

To encourage the reading of poems as a cherished art form;

To help teachers bring poetry into their classrooms; and

To encourage support for poets and poetry publication.

You can help celebrate National Poetry Month by writing your own poetry, reading a poem each day, purchasing a book of poetry at your favorite indie bookstore, attending a poetry reading at a café or library, reading a poem of your own at an open mic event, or signing up for a poetry class or workshop. 

Now that Spring has arrived, why not make a joyful noise to welcome it and read poetry? For more on the Academy of American Poets and National Poetry Month, visit: poets.org. And write on!

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Luck is tenacity of purpose.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca

Luck, simply defined as “good fortune,” is something we can all use more of, now and always. Let’s remember this:

We are already lucky! As authors and aspiring writers, we have the joy of dwelling in the realm of words and imagination — that golden place where anything and everything is possible. What a gift!

Someone once said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Consider how liberating this view of luck is. It’s also tantalizing, because it suggests that we really can create our own luck through our own efforts and persistence. We can do the spade work, the preparation, so that when an opportunity comes our way, we can coax it into bearing fruit.

There are steps we can take to make ourselves luckier, to actually boost our luck quotient. How do we do this? We can help luck find us by putting ourselves in places and situations where good fortune is more likely to tap us on the shoulder, whether in the guise of a sparkling new idea or a chance encounter with someone who can give us a hand.

For me, this means getting out into the world and sharing what I’m working on with other people in my daily rounds and by attending events that inspire me and expose me to people who can give me a hand. Some time ago, I was at a festival in my home town and ran into a friend in indie publishing. I mentioned my children’s book and the name of someone I wanted to pass it on to. And my friend said, “Oh, I was just on a panel with her recently. Send me an email and I’ll forward it on with a note.” And she did exactly that!

Was it lucky we happened to meet? Yes. Did I nudge luck along by sharing what I needed help with? Absolutely. And you can, too. Remember, you’re already lucky and you can be luckier now! You have everything you need to make it happen. And, as always, when we reach out to help each other, Lady Luck surely smiles on us, too. Write on!

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« The best writing is rewriting. »
E.B. White

I came across some revision tips from an editor at at major publisher:

Be brave — It takes as much courage to undertake a full revision as it does to get your story down on paper in a first draft. “A good revision usually involves a major overhaul,” she notes. “Most writers don’t push themselves far enough in their revisions. Be afraid of not changing enough!”

Fix it now — “Chances are really good that if you can see a problem in your work,” others will see it as well, she observes. So when you tackle a revision, don’t be lazy: Resist the temptation to gloss over any weaknesses you’ve pinpointed; instead, work to eliminate them. Your goal should be to have the best new version possible. The stronger your revision, the farther fresh readers can take you. As Anica suggested, “Don’t waste a fresh read on problems you already know about.”

Outline the book you’ve written — Once you have a full draft, consider outlining all the elements of your plot and your sub plot(s). This will help you see what you can take out and identify gaps or weaknesses. It will also help you map your plot and emotional arcs so you can see their interaction. One approach: Create a Post-It wall using different colors for different characters and/or to map major plot points.

What to look for in a major revision:

•  Are your characters fully developed?

•  Is your narrative voice compelling?

•  Is your plot interesting and compelling?

•  What’s the theme, the subtext — the fundamental truth you’re trying to convey?

•  Do your plot arc and your emotional arc work well together?

•  How’s your pacing: Do things happen when they should?

•  How’s your prose: What needs polishing? 

The major takeaway: Revision is challenging, but the results are well worth it. Write on!

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Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. William Wordsworth

Today, April 7, is William Wordsworth’s birthday; the beloved Romantic poet was born in 1770. I always think of him wandering among green and growing fields and flowers. Since he’s a favorite of mine, I’m sharing some of his musings to inspire and gladden our hearts.

“The child is father of the man.”

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

“That best portion of a good man’s life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”

“Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”

“How many undervalue the power of simplicity! But it is the real key to the heart.”

“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!”

“Come forth into the light of things, let Nature be your teacher.”

“That inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude.”

“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.”

“My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man;”

“Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar.”

“The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly.”

“To begin, begin.”

What lovely, heartfelt musings to guide us as we all write on!

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« What greater wisdom can there be than kindness? » Jean Jacques Rousseau

Some time ago, I was scrolling through my emails when one headlined  “Productivity Tips,” caught my eye. Since I wasn’t feeling productive, I decided to check out the video it featured. I’m so glad I did! Because it wasn’t about productivity at all. It was about not feeling productive.

It was an honest, candid admission by a writing coach who prides herself on being a highly productive, overachiever about how she’d run into a technical snafu on a project and was feeling overwhelmed.

She really had only one bit of advice to give: Be kind to yourself. And that’s what she was going to do herself that day: Instead of a forced march toward a goal she’d set for herself, she was going to give herself a different day. She was going to take a break — and later that evening, she was going to call an old friend and watch a movie with her and they were going to talk about it over the phone and just have fun. How wise!

In this same spirit, along with doing our best to help each other through these trying times, let’s also be kind to ourselves, let’s also help ourselves as we would a friend:

Let’s be kind to ourselves when we’re not feeling all that productive. If we can’t push through it, let’s just give ourselves permission to take a break and go back later. More often than not, just relaxing and having a little fun will help us get back on track.

Let’s be kind to ourselves when we’re feeling forgetful. Focusing takes a lot more energy these days, doesn’t it? So if you are not on top of everything — if you’re scattered and forgetful, simply be OK with it and go on. It’s OK, Karin. It’s OK, I tell myself.

Let’s be kind to ourselves when we our usual strategies for keeping anxiety at bay don’t seem to be working. Keeping busy is a way of coping with anxiety for many of us, including myself. And maybe you, too. But sometimes these tools we use don’t work. When that happens, why not admit it and try again later? And then, renewed, write on!