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Dear writer
"And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done." (Dr Seuss, Oh, the places you'll go!)
Creating is an act of giving. Although this giving can be blissful, we only have a finite amount of inner resources. We often get so focused on producing, that we neglect to nourish the gift we constantly draw from. Julia Cameron, author of acclaimed The Artist's Way, calls the process of replenishing our artistic reserves "filling the well".
Boosting your creativity
Cameron claims that the language of art is a sensual one. To fill the well, we must literally return to our senses, to the details of life where inspiration is found.
Slow down. Start listening instead of just hearing, looking instead of just seeing. Go somewhere unfamiliar - a market, a playground, a concert - and soak up the colours and scents. Dance barefoot to exotic music. Devour delight.
And something you can do right now to kick-start your creativity is this easy exercise. Sit comfortably and move your eyes right to left for 30 seconds. A research study shows that this exercise stimulates cross-talk between the two hemispheres of your brain and gives your creativity a jolt (Shobe, Ross & Fleck, 2009, Brain and Cognition). It sounds ridiculous, but it actually works!
Lighten up
Your creativity is precious. It carries your reflection. So when that reflection dims and you find yourself in a slump, go have some fun! As Roald Dahl says in Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, "A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men."
Look after yourself and your gifts, and as always:
Forge ahead fearlessly,
Michelle
Michelle Nöthling - Editor of The Writers' College Newsletter and freelance magazine journalist.
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FOUND ON THE WEB: BOOST YOUR CREATIVITY
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SPOTLIGHT ON: BREAK THROUGH YOUR WRITING BARRIERS - UNDERSTANDING HOW CREATIVITY COACHING WORKS
Do you struggle to get started with your writing? Or finish it? Do self-doubts and anxiety paralyse you?
Creativity coaching can help you overcome your writing blocks and ineffective habits, regardless of if you are a fiction or non-fiction writer. Here at The Writers' College, creativity coach Sally Mazák will guide you to the solutions in the Break Through Your Writing Barriers Course.
Why do people choose to work with a Creativity Coach?
A creativity coach helps writers achieve what they feel they can't do on their own - whatever that is for them personally.
Sudden career shifts, writing blocks, ideas being rejected, lack of confidence, bad writing experiences, burn-out, even dealing with success ... the list of reasons people begin creativity coaching is extensive.
Working with a creativity coach on a course will help writers tap into their strengths clear away the clutter clouding their concentration learn techniques to assist their writing process, helping them long after they have completed the course.
Read the rest of the article here. |
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LATEST COLLEGE NEWS
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
 "To be a writer is to sit down at one's desk in the chill portion of every day, and to write; not waiting for the little jet of the blue flame of genius to start from the breastbone - just plain going at it, in pain and delight." - John Hersey.
New Zealand writer Hilary Murray approached us for a manuscript critique in 2011. Writing as Galia Ryan, her first novel Choices is due to be released in October 2012, and two follow-up novels were accepted for publication as well.
Alesha Ally, who is on her fifth assignment in the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course, is having her stories published as serials in a publication called The Phoenix Pulse. She now has her own column, called The Phoenix Pen, and the first story they are using is her second assignment which she made into a dramatic page-turner.
Jennifer Copeland sold one of her assignments to People's Friend while she was still a student on the Short Story Writing Course. She wrote to us:
"Do you remember that I had a short story (my first) accepted by People's Friend while I was completing the course? I thought I'd let you know that since then, I've sold three more to them, the latest just last week. I can't believe that it's all happening, still doesn't seem quite real!
The short story writing course really was a fantastic investment for me, not just in the knowledge you passed on but also the writing assignments. The second short story I sold started off as an assignment, and I'm going to send another one that was an assignment soon."
Go Jen!
Hannah Green, a past Short Story Writing Course and Scriptwriting Course student, now studying creative writing in the USA, has started a Women Only writing site with friends:
http://thefoxmagazine.blogspot.com.
Visit the site for submission guidelines. The only condition is that the author be female.
To all our students who courageously keep going - even if it means persevering through the chill portion of the day - we are extremely proud of you.
Read more students success stories here.
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ON OUR WEBZINE
We have new articles on our webzine to inspire you.
Your questions and battles are the same as those of famous writers! We look at some of our favourite words of wisdom in Famous Quotes on Writing here.
"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Steven King
"It's none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way." - Ernest Hemingway
"Every writer I know has trouble writing." - Joseph Heller
Read more Famous Quotes on Writing here.
Why Poets are Eternal Beginners - by Fiona Zerbst
There are no short cuts in poetry. Even if you have been writing for over 20 years, you start at the very beginning when you sit down to a blank sheet of paper.
In fact, if you have written good poems in the past, there is no guarantee you will write good poems in the future. You cannot predict that you will write a great poem, even if you have mastered some poetic forms and you feel reasonably confident that you know how to use language effectively. There is just no way of knowing.
I say all this, not to discourage you, the would-be poet. I say it to encourage you. Because what it means is that experienced poets have only a very slim advantage over poets who are just starting out. That advantage is having written more - perhaps well, or even not so well, but certainly more - than the new poet. [Read More]
Writing Online Articles that Readers Will Find - by Atka Young
When it comes to writing articles for online magazines, apps, websites, blogs or even social media - writing a good article is not enough. People first need to find your article, and then find that it's worth the read.
Understand your online reader
People read online articles differently to how they read articles in a printed magazine. 'The average reader spends 43 minutes on print, 31 minutes on digital magazines and under 10 minutes on websites,' says Bob Sauerberg, CEO of Condé Nast magazine.
Online readers are either looking for something specific or scanning the web for something attention-grabbing. They have a short attention span and are only interested in an information quick fix.
Tag your article with strong keywords so that readers can easily find what they're looking for And to make it easy for readers to find your article even when they aren't looking for it - use video, photos, podcasts, animation and sound to grab the reader's attention. [Read More]
The Recipe for Writing Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror - by
Sonny Whitelaw
One of the most enduring fallacies is that speculative fiction-science fiction (SF), fantasy and horror-is centered on the implausible.
Some spec fic, such as fairy tales and absurdist works like those written by Dr. Suess and Terry Pratchett, play on the implausible. However, most fantasy, SF and horror stories seek to transform the implausible into the plausible.
Put simply, to be a successful speculative fiction writer (or spec fic, as it's commonly known) your readers must fall in love (or hate) with your characters and want to buy real estate in the worlds you create. That means your readers must find your characters and their situations and the world they inhabit very plausible. [Read More]
Some more articles to sink your teeth into:
Those wobbly days as a writer - by Louis Greenberg
What would my mother say! By Hilary Murray
How to Achieve Your Writing Goals - by Nichola Meyer
How much factual research do you need for fiction writing? By Louis Greenberg
Making Time to Write - by Ginny Swart
How to Keep Your Point Of View Consistent - by Hannah Green |
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