A Writing Exercise That Increases Awareness And Description Skills

Written by Catherine Franz


Practice attaching words to feelings requires time to do. Without a system that helps you monitor that time,repparttar minutes or hours could feel unproductive. Withrepparttar 128796 right exercise, you can then use that time wisely, as well as save you time and frustration.

Learning to applyrepparttar 128797 right words to our six senses is a top ingredient torepparttar 128798 mixture of writing. Its language bringsrepparttar 128799 reader intorepparttar 128800 story. All of us easily know how we feel, or what we're seeing (okay, most ofrepparttar 128801 time), what we're hearing, smelling, tasting, and sensing, and can usually explain it in 50 words if pushed to do it. But, how do you describe it in one or two words withoutrepparttar 128802 pushing?

Also, by beginning with good material,repparttar 128803 remaining part ofrepparttar 128804 writing process becomes easier. This exercise will help you improve your beginning.

This is a simple exercise that you can do anywhere, anytime, in a space of minutes or longer. You can practice Monday mornings inrepparttar 128805 garden,repparttar 128806 doctor’s waiting room, or inrepparttar 128807 lunchroom. It can last as long as a television commercial (oops those aren't short any longer), or you more aggressively with a devoted 30-minutes a day. Whatever length of time or place you have, it will always improve your skill.

You will want to sit while completing this exercise.

Okay, let's start withrepparttar 128808 most difficult spot, your supplies -- paper and your writing instruments. Landscape, portrait, small, or regular size sheet of paper doesn't matter. I define what paper size to use byrepparttar 128809 amount of time available and my location. If I'm mobile, I use my small journal. If I'm at my desk or at home, I use a regular size paper. Sometimes lines, sometimes not. Sometimesrepparttar 128810 exercise flows over to two or three sheets. Don't limitrepparttar 128811 experience by paper size. Have fun withrepparttar 128812 recording tools as well. Experimentation isrepparttar 128813 key to our curiosity. And, curiosity isrepparttar 128814 foundation of a writer.

Draw a circle onrepparttar 128815 page and place your name inrepparttar 128816 center. Large, small, in color, black, or blue, again it doesn't matter. Use whatever flips your pancakes at that moment. In other words, whatever feels good atrepparttar 128817 time.

Your objective is to describe your five senses, six if you have that gift, with words. Writerepparttar 128818 words that express that sense inrepparttar 128819 space insiderepparttar 128820 circle randomly around your name.

Here is how you would use this exercise to increase environment awareness and description. Write your words inrepparttar 128821 location onrepparttar 128822 paper relevant torepparttar 128823 direction it appears. For example: I'm sitting outside my office on a 9th floor balcony atrepparttar 128824 moment, I hear a heavy humming fromrepparttar 128825 tires onrepparttar 128826 wet pavement below and birds chirping above me torepparttar 128827 right. I would placerepparttar 128828 words forrepparttar 128829 tires onrepparttar 128830 bottom left andrepparttar 128831 chirping onrepparttar 128832 upper right on my page.

Why Do We Publish?

Written by Michael LaRocca


WHY DO WE DO THIS? Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca

A major "character" in Mark Salzman's first autobiography is his father. Sometimes his father paints. But his father hates painting. He likes it when his painting is done. He likes having painted. Butrepparttar act of painting itself is, in his opinion, a big pain inrepparttar 128794 backside.

Nobody reading this approaches writing like that, do they? I know I don't. Of all my experiences as an author, whacking those words down ontorepparttar 128795 paper isrepparttar 128796 best ofrepparttar 128797 best. Always has been, always will be. Even though I cut most of them. I like creating.

I've quoted Hemingway before. Long periods of thinking, short periods of writing. These days, my thinking's taking longer and my periods of writing are getting less frequent, but both still happen, and I still love creating something from nothing.

If it weren't for me, you would never readrepparttar 128798 words you're reading right now. Nobody else would ever write them. And they contain my thoughts. Through time and space, better than telepathy, you hear what I'm saying.

So, there's one reason to write, isn't it? The biggie, if you ask me. I write what I do because I can't NOT write it. I may be clarifying my thoughts in my own head. But, most certainly, I'm just so moved by those thoughts that I must put them on paper. They're in me and they have to get out, kinda like those critters inrepparttar 128799 ALIEN movies.

(If we want to extend this sick analogy even farther beyondrepparttar 128800 pale, self-editing isrepparttar 128801 process of cleaningrepparttar 128802 blood and guts fromrepparttar 128803 sucking chest wound. Then we work with editors because we miss a few spots and perhaps have trouble stitching up our very own guts and... I should shut up!)

Is thisrepparttar 128804 only reason to write? Because I want to zap my thoughts into your heads? I don't know. But let me changerepparttar 128805 question. Is this a reason to publish? Why not write your books and stick them in a filing cabinet like Sean Connery did inrepparttar 128806 film FINDING FORRESTER? Every fraggin guru onrepparttar 128807 circuit talks about self-expression. Write it, express it, file it away. Why publish it?

(It's okay if you haven't seen this obscure little gem. I will explain all.)

In fact, there are writers who do exactly that. Some fear rejection or criticism. We hear about them whenever we pop into a writing workshop. But, I don't think there are very many of them. I have trouble picturing someone who can spend months (years?) doing something as essentially egotistical as writing a novel, but who is fundamentally lacking in any sort of self-confidence. Naw, they're thinking posterity but lackrepparttar 128808 stones to admit it.

At times I've got an inferiority complex I wouldn't dream of whacking onto your shoulders, but it was absent when I wrote my books. Duringrepparttar 128809 act of writing itself, you think, "My words are better than your words." You do. You feel that you must record your thoughts because they're that much better than most. That's what writing is. So, I would say that by definitionrepparttar 128810 author isn't ALWAYS plagued by self-doubt.

In FINDING FORRESTER,repparttar 128811 Sean Connery character wonrepparttar 128812 Pulitzer with his first book, saw that every reviewer misunderstood him, and decided they could all get stuffed. This is a movie, a work of fiction, but I understandrepparttar 128813 attitude. I once wrote a true story, whererepparttar 128814 main character was Michael LaRocca, only to have a critic slamrepparttar 128815 main character as "unbelievable." Apparently I don't act like real people.

I could never shove all my writing in a filing cabinet, unpub- lished, and tellrepparttar 128816 establishment to get stuffed. But yep, there are stupid people inrepparttar 128817 world, and some of them review books.

So, we've identified two groups who won't be seeking publication. Hopelessly insecure and hopelessly arrogant. But, like Aristotle, I prefer moderation. You still may be wondering why I seek publi- cation. So do I. Let my exploration of this question continue.

I've hit best-seller status for two different e-publishers with three different books. Minor thrills atrepparttar 128818 time, but there's no way I could call them enough of a reward for what I put into writing.

You're an author. You know what I'm talking about. We all but kill ourselves to make our books. So, let's be blunt here. Unless you're going to throw Rowling/King/Clancy/Grisham money at me -- and you are NOT -- money isn't sufficient reason to publish. Nobody reading this article has quit his/her "real job" to be a full-time writer.

Publishing isn't just a case of sending it to a publisher, signing a contract, and being done.

Next up is editing, which is a blast. Not atrepparttar 128819 time, perhaps. Any editor worth a damn will beat you overrepparttar 128820 head with every bad word choice you ever made. And you made hundreds! But atrepparttar 128821 end of that gauntlet, you know you are da bomb.

Seeing my cover art is almost always awesome. Yes, I did say "almost." One bad experience among seven. It happens. But, if you've worked with a publisher, you know what I mean. You log ontorepparttar 128822 old Internet one day, not fully conscious, amazed that you poured that first cup of coffee without burning off your naughty bits. You pop open an email and see cover art that almost makes your head explode. You get this big rush, thinking, "Someone understands my writing!" What you don't realize, naive little author, is that some artists don't even readrepparttar 128823 books they dorepparttar 128824 art for. But still. The art rocks your world. Feel that. I always enjoy clicking those email attachments and seeing MY book covers.

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