Adrienne Rich (1929 – 2012)

“The serious revolutionary, like the serious artist, can’t afford to lead a sentimental or self-deceiving life.” ― Adrienne Rich

Last week, the brilliant poet and pioneering feminist Adrienne Rich passed away. The world has lost a profound voice, but Adrienne’s poetry and prose will certainly live on.

I first read Adrienne’s poetry in a class on women writers, which was easily my favorite literature course during college. We read “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” as one of our assignments, and I fell in love with the poem. In fact, it was one of the first poems that I truly studied, reading it over and over to absorb every nuance.

The poem does exactly what I think poetry is supposed to do: it paints a picture, it’s rich with emotion, it uses symbolism and metaphor, and it carries a subtle but deeply meaningful message. It makes you think. It invites you to read it aloud and to read it again. To this day, it remains one of my all-time favorite poems.

“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is presented in full (on page two) of the New York Times obituary: “A Poet of Unswerving Vision at the Forefront of Feminism.”

Remembering Adrienne Rich

The Los Angeles Times also published an obituary highlighting Adrienne Rich’s contributions and accomplishments:

She came of age during the social upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s and was best known as an advocate of women’s rights, which she wrote about in both her poetry and prose. But she also wrote passionate antiwar poetry and took up the causes of the marginalized and underprivileged. (from the Los Angeles Times obituary: “Adrienne Rich dies at 82; feminist poet and essayist“)

The Poetry Foundation has assembled articles and essays commemorating Adrienne Rich’s life and legacy: “Remembrances of Adrienne Rich Abound.”

New Verse News has published a poem by Bill Sullivan, which is simply titled “Adrienne Rich (1929-2012).”

Adrienne’s Language

“When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her.” ― Adrienne Rich

To celebrate Adrienne Rich’s life and legacy, I thought I’d share a poem that I wrote many years ago, shortly after I first discovered her work. This was for a class assignment in which we were asked to write a creative response to a poem of our choosing. I chose “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” and wrote a response in the voice of Aunt Jennifer.

Adrienne’s Language

A Creative Response to “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

Adrienne’s language settles across the page
Black symbols of her thoughts embedded,
engraved in deliberate books. Unafraid
of readers’ mindful eyes. Her lovely lullabies
sing and cry. Brave

niece – she grips the pen in hand,
scrawling the notions of life and
the images of living. Her heart lay
open for all to see, for me, my tigers.

Her words set the scene: tales alive
and breathing. Recount the memory, recount.
Counting stitches of her stories – her own
tapestries, done up in Adrienne’s language.

By Melissa Donovan

“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.” ― Adrienne Rich

*All quotes are from Goodreads

 

Tips for Critiquing Other Writers’ Work

As a writer, you have to be thick-skinned.

Professional writing is a highly competitive and saturated field where criticism is omnipresent for two important reasons:

1) It’s the most efficient way for writers to increase their skills, and

2) Written work is often positioned to receive much criticism upon publication.

And guess what? Everyone’s a critic — because everyone has an opinion. Anyone can read a piece of writing and opine that it is good or bad, weak or strong, or that it succeeded or failed.

There’s a definite art to providing well constructed and thoughtful criticism, which is designed to help a writer improve, and that recognizes the fine line between personal preference and quality of the writing.

Your writing will only improve if you can graciously accept a critique and that’s exactly why you should know how to critique someone else’s writing as well. The tips below explain how to provide critiques that are helpful and respectful. If you can apply these tips to the critiques you give, then you’ll better position yourself to receive helpful and respectful critiques in return.

Don’t Crash the Party

Generally, it’s bad form to sound off on a writer’s work unless you are invited to do so. There are a few writers who can’t handle feedback, and often these are the ones who won’t ask for it. Chances are, they’re just going to defend their work to the bitter end, so your feedback will be little more than a waste of time. Other writers will openly declare that feedback is always welcome. It is here that you should focus your efforts, assuming your goal as a critic is to help people, and not to make them feel inferior or feeble. However, your best bet is to simply limit your critiques to those writers who personally ask you for feedback. This will usually be a trade, in which you swap critiques, an arrangement that should be mutually beneficial.

R.S.V.P. with Care

Some writers ask for feedback, but what they really want to hear is how great they are. These are the narcissistic types who write more for their own ego than for the sake of the craft itself. It takes a little intuition to figure out which writers really want you to weed out all the flaws in their work and which are just looking for praise. If your critique partner asks specific questions, you should answer, but try to avoid back-and-forth arguments and getting into a position where you are defending your critique or where the writer is defending his or her work. Exchanges like these are a sign that this is not a beneficial or positive critique relationship.

Bring Something to the Party

If you’re giving a critique, whether in a writer’s group, a workshop, online, or with a friend, you should take the time to really read a piece before you construct your feedback. Read every line carefully and make notes, mark it up as you go, and then jot down your thoughts when you’ve finished reading. If time and the length of the piece allow, give it a second reading, because that’s often where things really click or stick out. There’s nothing worse than receiving half-baked feedback. It’s blatantly obvious when someone hasn’t put sincere effort into a critique, and it renders the critique useless.

Devour the Food, Not the Hostess

Whatever you do or say during your critique, your feedback should be directed at the writing, not the writer. Don’t start your comments with the word “you” — ever. Always refer to the piece, the sentence, the paragraph, the prose, or the narrative. You are judging the work, not the individual who produced it, and though compliments aimed at the writer might be well received, there’s a subtle but significant difference between pointing out flaws in the piece versus the person.

Let the Good Times Roll

When you are giving a critique, always start by emphasizing the good. This is the cardinal rule of effective critiquing, and I cannot emphasize this enough: always start by telling the writer what works and where the strengths lie. By doing this, you’re kicking things off on a positive note. Also, it’s much easier for a writer to hear where they have failed after they hear where they’ve succeeded.

Here are two examples to illustrate this point:

1. The language is effective, with strong, colorful images. I can really see this in my mind quite vividly. However, some of the wording sounds cliché, so one way to make this even stronger would be to come up with alternatives to the more commonly used phrases, like…

2. Well, there are a lot of clichés. You should have tried to use more original word choices. But your imagery is good; I can visualize what the piece is communicating.

The first example is an appropriate critique whereas the second is both unprofessional and inconsiderate. It’s much easier to let a little air out of an inflated balloon than to blow up a deflated one. It’s especially easier on the person who is on the receiving end of your feedback.

Try to Have Fun Even if it’s Not Your Scene

Some people hate stories written in first person, but that doesn’t make a piece written in first person bad, it just makes it less appealing to the person who is turned off by it. Know the difference between your own personal preferences in terms of writing styles and try to separate these from your critiques. You can also issue a disclaimer letting the writer know that some of the elements in his or her work are not to your personal taste. If the entire style or genre is outside of your taste, then you may be doing the writer a favor by declining to critique or by recommending someone who would be a better match.

Help Clean up the Mess

Eventually, you’ll have to tell the writer where the piece falls short. Do this with grace. Avoid using strong negative language. Don’t repeatedly say things like “this is weak,” “you’re using the wrong words,” or “it’s boring.” Instead, use positive language and phrase your comments as suggestions for improvement:

• This word is vague. A stronger word would be…
• A better word choice would be…
• This could be more compelling or exciting if…

Remember, you’re there to help, not to hurt. If someone appreciates your opinion enough to ask for it, then provide it a manner that is conductive to learning and supportive of the writer’s efforts to improve. Whenever possible, offer concrete suggestions. If you spot a weak word, try to offer a stronger replacement word.

Nurse the Hangover

There’s a good chance that no matter how gentle you are, your writer friend will feel a bit downtrodden after hearing that their piece still needs a lot of work. Many writers are tempted at this point to give up on a piece, while very few will be motivated and inspired by the feedback.

After you’ve given a critique, check back with the writer and ask how the piece is coming along. Inquire as to whether your comments were helpful, and offer to read the piece again after it’s revised.

Learning How to Critique

Constructive criticism involves a little compassion. If someone cares enough about their work to show it around and invite feedback, then it’s probably something in which they are emotionally invested. If you are the person they feel is qualified to provide that feedback, then embrace the invitation as an honor, and approach it with respect.

It can be awkward at first — after all, who wants to be the bearer of bad news (and almost every critique contains at least a little bad news)? After you do a few critiques, you’ll get the hang of it and it will become natural and easy. Just keep these basic tips on how to critique in mind:

• Don’t provide a critique unless you’ve been invited to do so.
• Use good judgment and don’t waste time on writers who are looking to boost their egos.
• Take time and make an effort so you can offer a critique that is thoughtful and helpful; otherwise, just politely decline.
• Critique the writing, not the writer.
• Always start with the strengths, then address the weaknesses and problem areas using positive language.
• Be objective, especially if the piece you’re critiquing is not in a style or genre that you prefer.
• Make solid suggestions for improvement. Don’t be vague.
• Follow up with the writer to offer support and encouragement.
• Be patient with yourself as you learn how to critique effectively.

Do you have any tips to add? Have you ever struggled with providing critiques to other writers? Has the critique process helped you improve your own writing? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep on writing.

10 Ideas for Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing is the art of painting a picture with words.

In fiction, we describe settings and characters. In poetry, we describe scenes, experiences, and emotions. In creative nonfiction, we describe reality.

Classic literature was dense with description whereas modern literature usually keeps description to a minimum.

Compare the elaborate descriptions in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy with the descriptions in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Both series relied on description to help the readers visualize an imagined, fantastical world, but Rowling did not use her precious writing space to describe standard settings whereas Tolkien frequently paused all action and spent pages describing a single landscape.

This isn’t unique to Tolkien and Rowling; if you compare most literature from the beginning of of the 20th century and earlier to today’s work, you’ll see that we just don’t dedicate much time and space to description anymore.

I think this radical change in how we approach description is directly tied to the wide availability of film, television, and photography. Let’s say you were living in the 19th century, writing a story about a tropical island for an audience of northern, urban readers. You could be fairly certain that most of your readers had never seen such an island and had no idea what it looked like. To give your audience a full sense of your story’s landscape, you’d need pages of detail describing the lush jungle, sandy beaches, and warm waters.

Nowadays, we all know what a tropical island looks like, thanks to the wide availability of media. Even if you’ve never been to such an island, surely you’ve seen one on TV.

Descriptive Writing in the 21st Century

This might explain why few books on the craft of writing address descriptive writing. The focus is usually on other elements, like character, plot, theme, and structure. While modern readers don’t require lengthy descriptions, descriptive writing is an essential skill, even in the 21st century.

For contemporary writers, the trick is to make the description as precise and detailed as possible while keeping it to a minimum. Most readers want characters and action with just enough description so that they can imagine the story as it’s unfolding.

Descriptive writing is especially important for speculative fiction writers and poets. If you’ve created a fantasy world, then you’ll need to deftly describe it to readers. Lewis Carroll not only described Wonderland; he also described the fantastical creatures that inhabited it. In poetry, the challenge is to describe things in a way that is visceral.

Simple descriptions are surprisingly easy to execute. All you have to do is look at something (or imagine it) and write what you see. But well crafted descriptions require writers to pay diligence to word choice, to describe only those elements that are most important, and to use engaging language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

10 Descriptive Writing Ideas

Here are some descriptive writing ideas that will inspire you while providing opportunities to practice writing description. If you don’t have much experience with descriptive writing, you may find that your first few attempts are flat and boring. If you can’t keep readers engaged, they will wander off. Work at crafting descriptions that are compelling and mesmerizing.

1. Go to one of your favorite spots and write a description of the setting: it could be your bedroom, favorite coffee shop, or local park. Leave people, dialogue, and action out of it. Just focus on explaining what the space looks like.
2. Who is your favorite character from the movies? Describe the character from head to toe. Show the reader not only what the character looks like but also how the character acts. Do this without including action or dialogue. Remember: description only!
3. Thirty years ago we didn’t have cell phones or the Internet. Now we have cell phones that can access the Internet. Think of a device or gadget that we’ll have thirty years from now and describe it.
4. Since modern fiction is light on description, many young and new writers often fail to include descriptions, even when the reader needs them. Go through one of your writing projects and check to see that elements readers may not be familiar with are adequately described.
5. Sometimes in a narrative, a little description provides respite from all the action and dialogue. Make a list of things from a story you’re working on (gadgets, characters, settings, etc.) and for each one, write a short description of no more than 75 words.
6. As mentioned, Tolkien often spent pages describing a single landscape. Choose one of your favorite pieces of classic literature, find a long passage of description, and rewrite it. Try to cut the descriptive word count in half.
7. When you read a book, use a highlighter to mark sentences and paragraphs that contain description. Don’t highlight every adjective and adverb. Look for longer passages that are dedicated to description.
8. Write a description for a child. Choose something reasonably difficult, like the solar system. How do you describe it in such a way that a child understands how he or she fits into it?
9. Most writers dream of someday writing a book. Describe your book cover.
10. Write a one-page description of yourself.

If you have any descriptive writing ideas to add to this list, feel free to share them in the comments.

Breaking Grammar Rules in Poetry Writing

Accomplished writers respect the rules of grammar the way an acrobat respects the tightrope — grammar might be intimidating and complicated, but we need it in order to perform.

Yet sometimes, an acrobat takes her foot off the tightrope. She does a flip or some other trick of physical prowess that seems to defy the laws of gravity and exceed the potential of the human body.

Grammar rules lend structure and clarity to our writing and gives us common ground rules that we can use to communicate clearly and effectively, just like the tightrope gives the acrobat a foundation upon which to walk.

So when does a writer take her foot off the rules of grammar so she can perform spectacular tricks?

Good Grammar in Poetry Writing

I’m often asked by writers and poets how they should handle grammar, capitalization, and punctuation in poetry. When it comes to grammar rules, is poetry writing the exception?

Many poets demonstrate grammatical expertise, neatly parking periods and commas in their designated spaces and paying homage to proper capitalization.

Consider the following poem and how it follows the rules of grammar. Note that in poetry writing, the traditional rule is that the first letter of each line is capitalized regardless of whether or not it starts a new sentence.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
By Adrienne Rich 

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer’s finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Writing Poetry Without Grammar Rules

Poets don’t always follow the rules, which is why poetry is attractive to writers who are especially creative, rebellious, and enjoy coloring outside the lines.

Grammar rules, particularly spelling and punctuation, are nothing more than a creative tool for many poets who choose to dismiss these rules altogether or use the them to decorate and add aesthetic elements to a poem.

Many poets have skirted grammar with great success. Many more have failed. E.E. Cummings is well known for giving grammar the proverbial finger, but he takes his anarchy one step further and actually alters basic sentence structure, and manages to do so quite effectively.

anyone lived in a pretty how town
By ee cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did.

Women and men (both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed (but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
with by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men (both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

Cummings has dismissed capital letters altogether and he uses punctuation seemingly at random. Yet the poem works. Imagine it with the proper grammar rules applied and you’ll quickly realize that his way is more effective for this piece and what he’s trying to accomplish with language.

Poetry Writing – Where Rules and Creativity Cooperate or Collide

As the poetry canon grows beyond measure, poets increasingly reach for creative devices to make their work stand out.

Toying with grammar rules is one such device, but it is not something that can be approached carelessly. If you choose to forgo the rules because you don’t know them rather than as a creative technique, your lack of knowledge will show and the poem will present as amateurish. Of course, that’s true for all types of writing: learn the rules, and only after you have learned them, go ahead and break them.

I salute anyone who breaks the rules in the interest of art and great poetry writing just as much as I admire poets who craft meter and verse within the confines of grammar. So for this language-loving poet, either way is the right way. Walk the tight rope or jump from it and see if you can fly.

What are your thoughts on applying grammar rules to poetry writing? Are you a stickler for good grammar, even in your creative or experimental work, or do you like to bend and break the rules? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Winners Announced for the Haiku and Six-Word-Story Contest

I’m pleased to announce that three winners have been selected for Writing Forward‘s first contest.

To enter the contest, participants were required write either a haiku or a six-word story and share their entry as a comment on the contest post.

There were some lovely poems and stories, and I encourage you to check them out.

Winners were selected with a random number generator and will each receive one copy (Kindle or paperback — winners’ choice) of my recently published book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises.

All of the winners have been sent emails and will need to claim their prizes by responding to claim their prizes. If you are a winner and did not receive your winning email notification, then check your spam filter or email me directly.

The Winners

Danielle of D’s Poetry Corner was entrant number 6 and entered the following haiku:

Daylight Savings Time
Springing Forward, We Forgot
How We Needed Sleep

Carol Fillmore was entrant number 10 and entered the following haiku:

Ideas spawning
leaping rollicking in a
stream of consciousness

Marlon of ShadowCrowX (YouTube channel) was entrant number 39 and entered the following haiku:

Tranquility found
Within the depths of music
Brings joy to silence

Congratulations to all of the winners and to everyone who wrote wonderful haiku and stories and shared them with us.

About 101 Creative Writing Exercises

101 Creative Writing Exercises takes you on an adventure through the world of creative writing. Explore different forms and genres by experimenting with fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Discover effective writing concepts, tools, and techniques. Create projects you can publish. Ideal for new and experienced writers alike, this book will enlighten and inspire you with exciting new ideas.

Exploring Genres in Creative Nonfiction Writing

Creative writing includes more than just fiction and poetry. Creative nonfiction is a wide category of creative writing, which includes several genres.

Creative nonfiction is a relatively new field; only in recent years have works of creative nonfiction received the kind of attention from critics and readers that fiction and traditional nonfiction have enjoyed for decades.

It’s likely that creative nonfiction will continue to gain strength as a dominant force in the world of writing. The world wide web is growing at an astounding rate, and much of the content on the Internet is considered creative nonfiction. Take blogs, for example; many would be considered creative nonfiction.

What is Creative Nonfiction?

How can you tell the difference between a literary novel and any other kind of novel?

A work is usually considered literary because of the way it’s written. A literary novel is more than simple storytelling. The writer pays special attention to language, word choice, rhythm, and voice. Creative nonfiction is factually accurate writing that does the same thing; it pays attention to the craft of writing.

According to Wikipedia:

Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing truth which uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft.

Unlike fiction and poetry, the creative nonfiction genre depends heavily on research, facts, and credibility. While opinions may be interjected and often, the work depends on the author’s own memories, the material must be verifiable and accurately researched and reported.

Due to the factual nature of creative nonfiction, ethics come into play. In recent years, some memoir authors have been criticized for straying from the truth. There may be some wiggle room here. Since a memoir is not considered journalism, a writer may decide to take creative liberties with the facts; however, this may cause an uproar among critics and may even lead to a controversial reception of the work.

Sub-Genres in Creative Nonfiction

These are just a few of the genres that qualify as creative nonfiction:

• Memoir and biography
• Food and travel writing
• Personal essays
• Literary journalism

If you think of more genres in creative nonfiction writing, feel free to share them in the comments.

Creative nonfiction continues to grow and become more widely accepted and recognized as a valid form of nonfiction literature.

Have you written creative nonfiction? How strictly do you feel a memoir or other work of creative nonfiction should stick to the facts? Do you feel that nonfiction works should focus on content and not creativity? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Can the Right Tools Help You Write Better?

When I first started writing, it was just me, a ninety-nine cent pen, and a cheap spiral-bound notebook. Using those tools, I wrote dozens of poems, stories, and journal entries.

These days, I’m surrounded by far more sophisticated writing tools: fancy pens and journals, a computer with writing software, a library of writing resources, and the Internet.

My writing has come a long way since I was a thirteen-year-old curled up on the floor with a pen, notebook, and my imagination. Certainly, experience and studying did a lot to help me write better, but did these newfangled tools also improve my writing?

Yes and no.

I think a few tools do help us write better, but for the most part, tools make writing easier or smoother. They don’t improve our writing, but they do improve our writing process.

The Right Writing Tools

Some tools literally improve our writing, like the dictionary and thesaurus, style guides, and other writing references that we use to ensure accuracy in our work. Online, many of these references are freely available, and this easy access can definitely improve our writing.

Yet most tools don’t impact our writing so much as they impact our experience of writing.

Many writers have declared that they are simply more creative when working with pen and paper. On the other hand, we can write a lot faster using a computer. In many cases, the tools we use force us to make a trade-off. We might opt to spend more time on a project by writing in longhand, choosing tools that promote creativity over expediency.

Tools can also simplify our writing process. A few months ago, I became frustrated juggling several notebooks, a binder, and multiple files and folders on my computer, all of which held notes, ideas, and drafts for a novel I’m developing. It was too much and became a hassle just to open the project and work on it. Then, I tried Scrivener, which brought most of my documents into a single file. With a few clicks, the entire project opens, neatly organized and fully accessible in this awesome application. It didn’t have any impact on my writing or my story, but it sure made the process a lot easier.

Tools to Write Better

We all want to write to the best of our abilities. The tools we choose can simplify or complicate our lives, and they might directly affect the quality of our writing. As much as I love stationery and writing supplies, I try to keep my tools to a minimum; otherwise, my desk gets too chaotic and I can’t get anything done. However, there are a few tools I’ve found to be indispensable:

• Plenty of cheap pens (including markers and highlighters) in a variety of colors: I use them up quickly and they have a nasty habit of disappearing.
• Journals and notebooks: I keep separate notebooks for fiction, poetry, and business writing. I’m at my most creative with good, old-fashioned pen and paper.
• Microsoft Word: I only use it because it’s industry standard and I need it for business. It’s awfully buggy and not very intuitive, but it’s better than nothing and not as good as…
• Scrivener: the latest addition to my collection of writing tools is a gem that I highly recommend to any writer working on a complex project or a project that involves a lot of research.
• Reference books and the Internet: these might not technically qualify as tools. They might be better labeled as resources. While I could write without them if I had to, I certainly wouldn’t want to.

What are some of your favorite writing tools? Do the tools you use improve your writing or make your writing process easier? Do they help you write better?

Win a Free Copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises!

Have you been thinking about picking up a copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises but haven’t gotten around to it yet?

Here’s your chance to get one for free.

It’s Writing Forward’s first official contest, and all you have to do to enter is write a haiku.

Three lucky winners will each get one copy (Kindle or paperback — winners’ choice) of my recently published book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises.

About the Book

101 Creative Writing Exercises takes you on an adventure through the world of creative writing. Explore different forms and genres by experimenting with fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Discover effective writing concepts, tools, and techniques. Create projects you can publish. Ideal for new and experienced writers alike, this book will enlighten and inspire you with exciting new ideas.

The Rules

• To enter, write a haiku and leave it as a comment on this post. As an alternative, you can write a six-word story.
• When you fill out the comment form, make sure you enter a valid email address where I can reach you (your email address will not be published; only I can see it).
• One entry per person.
• In order to enter, you must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada.

That’s it! Easy as pie.

The contest will run for one week, so I’ll close the comments on this post at midnight Monday, March 19. Winners will be drawn using a random number generator and will be announced here and contacted privately by email. Winners who choose to receive a paperback copy of 101 Creative Writing Exercises will need to provide either an Amazon account or shipping address. Prizes will ship out before March 31st.

Good luck, and happy writing!

10 Things I Love About the Kindle

Over the past few years, e-readers have changed the way we browse, purchase, and read books. As with any new technology, there is resistance to adopting e-readers. Some people have sworn to never give up their trusty paperback and hardcover books.

People have a lot of reasons for swearing off ebooks, like the simple desire to stick with the familiar. Many traditionalists say they can’t give up the smell of a new book. Others have expressed their need to put their book collections on display or use them as décor.

In what might be considered more practical reasons for avoiding this new technology, plenty of folks have wondered whether the files that comprise ebooks are safe and secure. Digital files are not tangible, so they seem far more fragile than a nice solid object in your hand. Yet I’m sure a similar argument was made many centuries ago when paper replaced stone tablets: Fire and water destroy paper so easily. Nothing can replace a trusty block of concrete!

When I first heard about e-readers, my heart almost stopped. You see, I’m very attached to my books. The idea that we might, one day soon, be living in a world where books were just bits and bytes rubbed me the wrong way. But in time, my attitude changed. A big reason for this has to do with bulk and volume. I simply don’t want to tote around hundreds of pounds of books for the rest of my life. I have a lot of books and the idea of fitting 3,000 of them into a device that fits in my hand was mighty appealing.

But that’s not why I finally bought a Kindle. What finally made me get a Kindle was the fact that I was about to become an author.

Kindle for Writers

In recent months, the number of ebook sales has surpassed print sales. Ebooks, and Amazon in particular, have made books cheaper and more accessible for readers. More importantly, they have made publishing more accessible to writers. My recently published book, 101 Creative Writing Exercises, has already sold twice as many copies for the Kindle as it has in print.

I’m glad I bought a Kindle when I did.

In fact, the reason I finally caved and got the Kindle was because I was writing a book. Based on my market research, I knew the majority of my readers would be using the Kindle, and I wanted to be able to review my own product and test it for quality in the same format my readers would be using.

Writers should keep in mind that a Kindle purchase is a tax write-off if you’re writing professionally or with the intention of getting published. And the benefits of the Kindle don’t stop there.

10 Things I Love About the Kindle

1. It holds approximately 3,000 books. I can take my entire library with me everywhere I go (no more agonizing over which book I want to bring on vacation), and it saves tons of space in my home.
2. Most ebooks are cheaper than their paperback counterparts. While some publishers keep their ebook prices high, the prices are likely to go down as ebooks compete in an increasingly affordable market.
3. Authors who self-publish are reporting much higher royalty earnings thanks to ebooks. I like knowing that an author gets a greater share of the revenue when I purchase their self-published books on my Kindle.
4. When I want to read a book, I can buy it and be reading it in seconds.
5. My wrists don’t get sore from holding up massive 1200-page books. It’s easy to curl up comfortably with with my Kindle. I have spent many a night wrestling into a comfortable position with an enormous book, so this is a huge bonus for me.
6. Instead of writing notes in the margins or keeping a separate notebook, I can attach notes digitally to the book I’m reading.
7. I can also create bookmarks with a couple of clicks, making it easy to return to passages I want to revisit later.
8. I can pop into the Kindle store from the device and browse, shop, buy, or add items to my wish list. This is a great feature when you’re reading books on the craft of writing that mention other titles.
9. Kindle remembers where I left off, so I don’t have to use bookmarks or dog-ear my books to save my place.
10. I can look at the book I authored on my Kindle and see what the majority of my readers see when they read it.

Finally, I want to add that if your Kindle is destroyed, stolen, or lost, you can get a new one and easily restock it with all of your ebooks at no additional charge — because your purchases are stored electronically and can be downloaded to multiple devices.

There’s a lot to love to love about the Kindle. Mine is the third generation Kindle Keyboard, and I’m sure the newer models that came out last fall are even better. I can’t wait to upgrade to the Kindle Touch.

Do you have a Kindle or use an e-reader? Do you want one? Do you feel that as a writer, you should be able to review your books on devices that your readers will use? Share your thoughts about ebooks and e-readers and how they affect authors by leaving a comment.

Writing Tips: Show, Don’t Tell

The first time I heard the advice show, don’t tell, I was young and it confused me.

Show what? Isn’t writing all about telling a story?

At the time, I shrugged it off as some kind of mysterious double-talk, but the phrase kept popping up: show, don’t tell.

It rolled off my teachers’ tongues. I spotted it in books and articles on the craft of writing. A couple of times, it appeared in red on my papers with an arrow pointing to a specific sentence or paragraph. Then, I took a poetry class and had a big aha moment where show, don’t tell became abundantly clear.

In poetry studies, we talk a lot about imagery. This poem has vivid imagery. What a great image! The images in the first stanza don’t go with the images in the second stanza. This kind of talk didn’t make sense to me either. Images in poems? We’re supposed to be writing, not drawing!

The irony, of course, is that my writing was packed with imagery and I was more prone to showing than telling. Nevertheless, the phrasing of these writing tips perplexed me.

Since then, I’ve worked with plenty of other young and new writers who have expressed embarrassment at having to admit they’re not sure what show, don’t tell means.

Show, Don’t Tell

Show, don’t tell is often doled out as writing advice, and it frequently appears on lists of writing tips. It even has its own Wikipedia page! Along with the advice write what you know and know your audience, it’s one of those writing-related adages that deserves some explanation because it seems counter-intuitive and raises a bunch of questions.

Yet it’s actually a simple concept. Ironically, the best way to explain it is to show, rather than tell, someone what it means, and I don’t think anybody’s done that better than Anton Checkhov:

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
- Anton Chekhov (source: Goodreads)

Oh, I Get It

I once heard a lecturer give a talk about love, and he made a good point: it’s not enough to tell someone you love them; you have to show people that you love them through your actions.

We can apply the same concept to writing.

You can tell your readers that two characters met and were instantly attracted to each other, or you could show the characters meeting, making eye contact, and checking each other out. He gulps, she bats her eyelashes, and readers get the picture.

When you show, you’re using words to create a scene that readers instantly visualize. Instead of intellectually registering what you’re telling them, they fully imagine what you’re showing them.

We can turn Checkhov’s explanation into a writing exercise in which we show, don’t tell readers our ideas:

Tell	Show
Kate was tired.	Kate rubbed her eyes and willed herself to keep them open.
It was early spring.	New buds were pushing through the frost.
Charlie was blind.	Charlie wore dark glasses and was accompanied by a seeing-eye dog.
Sheena is a punk rocker.	Sheena has three piercings in her face and wears her hair in a purple mohawk.
James was the captain.	“At ease,” James called out before relaxing into the Captain’s chair.

Now you try it. Think of some simple ideas that you could show readers instead of telling them. Feel free to share them in the comments.

Are there any writing tips that you hear frequently but don’t quite grasp? Share your thoughts and questions by leaving a comment, and make sure when you’re writing, you show, don’t tell.

20 Fun and Inspiring Character Writing Ideas

One of the most difficult things to execute well in a piece of fiction is a realistic character. We’ve all read stories in which the characters were dull or hollow; they come across like clones of the same characters we’ve met in dozens of stories before.

Readers want characters who are as unique and complex as real people.

Are we, as writers, obligated to deliver such characters?

Not necessarily. Plenty of stories are plot-driven or centered around theme rather than character. But the stories that resonate the most have vivid, layered characters. Readers and writers often sing the praises of character-driven fiction. So, the single best way to intrigue readers is to give them characters they can’t forget.

Character Writing Ideas

You can spend hours, days, weeks, or months developing character ideas. Whether you launch into your story with little knowledge of your characters or create full sketches and backstories for each one, there are plenty of tricks and techniques you can use to inspire characters and to breathe life into them.

1. Use real people as models for your characters. Think of all the people you know intimately, people you love as well as people you despise. Take their strongest and most interesting traits and qualities and give them to your characters.
2. Need a face for your character? You can use people you know for this too, but you can also use celebrities and other public figures. Some writers find that putting a face to a character brings out a more robust personality. Try it!
3. Baby name dictionaries are a great starting place for names, and names can help you generate ideas for your character sketches. Think about how names influence our perceptions of people and sketch a character that fits his or her name.
4. Start with a predicament. Then, you may need to create characters who have the skills to get out of that predicament. Thieves, for example, can pick locks, so if your characters need to get something out of a locked room or building, one of your characters may have some experience in burgling.
5. Live out your dreams. When you were a kid, did you want to be a rock star or an astronaut? Well, now you can live vicariously through your characters!
6. Turn to fiction. Books, movies, and TV shows are packed with incredible characters that audiences have already fallen for. Don’t try to copy these characters, but by all means, use them for inspiration. Ask yourself what made your favorite characters so compelling.
7. We all have quirks, so it makes sense for characters to have quirks too. Freckles, bitten fingernails, a limp, or a lisp are all ways you can set one character apart from the others.
8. Family and friends make us who we are. Draft sketches for your characters’ family and friends (even if they’re not going to appear in the story) and you may learn a thing or two about your character.
9. Have some style! From a modern urban princess to a bum on the street, every person has his or her own style. Your characters should too! What do they wear? How does she make up her face? Does he wear cologne?
10. Most people have interests, hobbies, and passions. Even if your character’s personal interests aren’t tied directly to the plot, they could enrich it, and they’ll certainly make your character more believable.
11. I’ve always found mannerisms and gestures fascinating. You often see the same mannerisms mirrored throughout a family or group of friends. In fiction, give each character his or her own unique gestures – biting the bottom lip, scratching one’s forehead, and tapping one’s toe on the floor are all good options.
12. Have you ever noticed that everyone you know has their own special way of talking? We each have a unique voice comprised of how we string words together, expressions that we frequently use, and our intonation. You can make a character more realistic by simply giving the character a unique voice through dialogue.
13. Some of the best characters are extreme or over the top. Think of Luke Skywalker, Robin Hood, and Indiana Jones. These characters have strong personalities and are deeply driven by higher values and personal desires. Think about how your characters’ philosophies and goals shape their personalities.
14. Not all characters are human! Stories can be enriched with pets; they may not be necessary to the plot, but they can add to the emotional value of a story.
15. Do you write science fiction or fantasy? Forget non-human pets. Try creating characters who are not of this earth: androids, aliens, and mythological or fantastical creatures.
16. When you’re fresh out of good character writing ideas, try taking your characters out of the story altogether. Write a scene from a character’s backstory, or draft a monologue in your character’s voice.
17. Spend some down time with your characters. What do they do when they’re not struggling with conflict or saving the world? Where do you characters eat, how do they organize their closets, and what do they listen to while working out? Sometimes taking a peek at your characters’ most normal moments will give you insight to who they are.
18. Balancing traits among a group of characters means that each character brings something different to the table. Harry Potter was a hero, but where would he have been without smarty-pants Hermione and loyal Ron? Distribute different strengths and weaknesses among your characters, especially if you’re writing an ensemble piece.
19. The literary canon is full of ancient and archetypal characters. From the herald and the hero to the trickster and the villain, myths, legends, and fairy tales can inspire and inform your characters. Put a new twist on these old favorites by forming (rather than copying) your characters from these proven standards from storytelling.
20. What about you? It’s the oldest trick in the book: basing a character on yourself.

What are some of your favorite character writing ideas and activities? How do you come up with new characters or make your characters realistic? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Grammar Rules: Split Infinitives

It’s important that we, as writers, know the tools of our trade. Part of our job is to understand the mechanics of language, which includes grammar rules. Yet many writers find themselves asking…

What are split infinitives?

It’s a term that grammarians and linguists throw around a lot, yet few people, including writers, seem to know what it means.

According to Wikipedia:

A split infinitive or cleft infinitive is an English-language grammatical construction in which a word or phrase, usually an adverb or adverbial phrase, comes between the marker to and the bare infinitive (uninflected) form of a verb.

So, what’s an infinitive? What’s a bare infinitive? Understanding these terms will help us figure out what split infinitives are.

An infinitive, or bare infinitive is a simple form of a verb. Examples include write, go, talk, sit, and understand.

When a participle, such as to, appears before an infinitive, it is then referred to as a full infinitive. Examples include to write, to go, to talk, to sit, and to understand.

So, how do we get split infinitives?

Infinitives become split infinitives when another word is inserted between the participle (also called a marker) and the bare infinitive:

We want to truly understand English grammar.

In the example above, the participle is to and the bare infinitive is understand. The full infinitive to understand is split by the adverb truly.

That’s simple enough. So, what’s the fuss?

As split infinitives became more popular in the 19th century, some grammatical authorities sought to introduce a prescriptive rule against them. The construction is still the subject of disagreement among native English speakers as to whether refraining from split infinitives is grammatically correct or good style.

In 1926, Henry Fowler wrote, “No other grammatical issue has so divided English speakers since the split infinitive was declared to be a solecism in the 19c: raise the subject of English usage in any conversation today and it is sure to be mentioned.” (source: Wikipedia)

Today, however, most linguists agree that split infinitives are acceptable.

Grammar Rules, Style, and Split Infinitives

While the grammar rules regarding split infinitives are being debated, style dictates that we write our sentences to be clear and consistent. Let’s take another look at our example sentence, but let’s move the adverb so our infinitive is no longer split:

We truly want to understand English grammar.

Note that this sentence sounds clearer, but we’ve changed the meaning. In the original example sentence, the adverb truly modified the phrase to understand. Here, it modifies want. When splitting infinitives, we need to make sure the word doing the splitting is modifying the right words in the sentence.

Let’s rewrite the sentence while keeping the meaning intact:

We want to master English grammar.

Here, the split infinitive to truly understand is replaced with stronger, more precise wording. Instead of truly understanding English grammar, we want to master it! This sentence is far clearer than the original. It has more punch, it doesn’t include a (somewhat questionable) split infinitive, and it communicates the exact same idea.

Split infinitives can sound awkward or clumsy when there’s a simpler, clearer way to construct the sentence.

The Final Frontier

One of the most famous of all split infinitives occurs in the opening sequence of Star Trek:

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Captain James T. Kirk

If you can find the participle (marker), the bare infinitive (simple form of the verb), and the adverb (which is causing the split) in the excerpt above, then you’re up to speed on split infinitives. Finally, ask yourself how it could be rewritten without the split infinitive. Does it sound better or worse?

Now you know all about split infinitives. You know:

• What split infinitives are
• How to identify split infinitives
• Split infinitives are acceptable, but
• Split infinitives can make a piece of writing awkward, so
• Use split infinitives with care

Do you better understand split infinitives? Have anything to add? Do you have any questions about these or other grammar rules? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.