Creative writing – Page 14

How to transform your writing into beautiful magic

Published on March 14, 2018April 5, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell13 Comments

I’m not talking about witches and warlocks. Nor, voodoo, potions, or card tricks.

Deception TV Show — Photo curtsey of IMBD

I’m talking about rhythm that unlocks magic in a story.

Makes you want to dance.

Every story has a rhythm. A story can stop and stutter like a car running out of gas. Or purr along like a smooth luxury car, as the rider enjoys the view. Or take your breath away thrilling you with the speed and power of a race car.

Which type of rhythm describes your story?

How a story flows, transforming words into poetry. Lyrical writing produces a rich, layered, evocative, and beautiful story. Rhythm creates and connects emotion to your reader.

WAIT. Don’t stop reading. NOT talking poetry or song lyrics. I’m talking musical storytelling.

About writing a story that moves the reader on a deep, emotional level. Words with musical magic. To write a story that takes my breath away with images and movement. That’s my goal.

So far here’s what I’ve learned about writing with rhythm:

The brain loves music.
Readers recognize rhythm in a story.
Creates a mood.
Pace determines rhythm.
Repetition is effective.
Avoid purple prose. (too many adjectives)
Vary sentence length.
Rhythm makes words dance on the page.
Use soft and hard sounds.
Tension and release, add rhythm to a scene.
Write with your ear. Listen for music in the words.
To be, is, and was suck the music out of the sentence. Substitute with verbs.
Adjectives next to nouns sound better than a preposition.
Music can help. So, I’m gonna listen to more music.

One day, I hope to write something worth remembering. Words that transform the reader and leave them wanting more.

What about you? Do you write with rhythm?

Have you ever thought about the rhythm of a story?

Do you have a tip to help me add beautiful, magical rhythm to my words?

Want to read more about rhythm writing? Check out the articles below.

Rhythm in Writing: How to Make Your Words Swing and Swirl by Henneke

5 Tips About Writing with Rhythm By Mark Nichol

Does Your Writing Have Rhythm? By Jami Gold

Choose words for sound. Improve your Alice Effect By Jack Hamann

Poetry: Making Music with Words by Melissa Donovan

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What is the image you want to project?

Published on March 12, 2018April 5, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell3 Comments

Are you being true to your persona?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition:

“the personality that a person (such as an actor or politician) projects in public: image”

In other words your image. Your image as an author.

Learning how to share on social media can help us improve as writers and bloggers. And possibly sell more books. Now, who doesn’t want that?

Donna Galanti wrote an article that talks about how a writer can present a consistent image to readers on social media, and she really got me to thinking about mine.

I’m not sure I’ve hit the mark with my author persona, yet. But I’ll keep trying.

Donna suggests the image doesn’t need to be genre-based unless that is all you want people to know about yourself.

So how can what can we do to help readers know what to expect?

Define and keep up a message that is constant and on target.
Share with your peeps what they can expect to see from you.
What they see is what they get.

What can you expect from my blog?

Whenever I learn or find something exciting about the writing craft, I’ll share here.
I write stories because I love writing. I write a blog post because I love learning and sharing. And I will always try to reflect that love here.
I write on this blog because I want to be a better writer.
Learning from Y’all, has improved my writing. I do my best to thank you each for your knowledge and expertise.
I believe in possibilities, anything can happen and want to encourage other writers with this blog. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll both make the NYT Bestseller list.

According to Donna’s post, I need to update my “about me” page. So that task just got added to my to-do list. Y’all stay tuned and keep an eye out for a new and improved page.

As Shakespear wrote, “This above all: to thine own self be true,…”

Take a gander at Donna’s post and tell me if you’ve hit all the points in her article. Click her link below. And tell me…

Did you see anything to help improve your social media image?

Does your “about me” page tell a story of who you are?

Do your readers know what to expect when they click on your blog?

Do you think that projecting a consistent author persona will help promote your writing and books?

4 Ways to Create Your Author Persona By Donna Galanti

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How you can make the most of Social Media

Published on March 9, 2018April 5, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Want to sell more books, grab more readers?

Who doesn’t, right?

Just had to reblog this terrific post by Nicholas C. Rossis. His article is filled with great tips on how to promote your book through social media.

I haven’t tried all of his tips, but I’m working on them. Little by little, and page by page, I’m trying to improve my social media presence.

Fingers crossed I don’t screw up my Facebook page. I’ve been known to mess up in the past.

If any of y’all manage his instructions, do let me know how it works out.

Exciting Times For Facebook Author Pages By Nicholas C. Rossis

Have you maximized your presence on Facebook and other Social Media?

Which tip worked best for you?

Do have another tip to help me expand my presence on Social Media?

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Writers, do you know how to overcome that blank page challenge?

Published on March 7, 2018April 5, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Do you know how to start writing a new chapter?

Sometimes I do. So I was thrilled to find an oldie but goodie article by Darcy Pattison at Fiction Notes.

I recently arrived at chapter 8 of my WIP, and then blank page syndrome (BPS) hit with a vengeance. Even my well thought out outline couldn’t spark inspiration.

But thanks to Darcy, I got my mojo back and I’m plugging right along now. Then it occurred to me, I couldn’t be the only writer to suffer from BPS and that Y’all might have the same issue from time to time. If that’s the case, maybe her simple and practical tips will help you too.

What helped me move past blank page…

Use the senses. When putting myself in the protagonist’s shoes, reach out and think about what he is seeing, smelling, hearing, etc.
Add action. Now that I’ve identified what he senses, move him into an action. For instance, if he is smelling something: Smoke – runs from building or turns off oven.
Start with dialogue. Get conversations going. I can always add something before that later.

Reminders to consider when writing a new chapter…

Waking up. Although this is a basic no-no, again it’s okay to get the juices flowing and can be changed in the final draft.
Backstory. This can get boring but again, I can cut in the end. Just write.
Dull vocabulary. Don’t bore the reader in the first paragraph, after all my goal is to keep them reading through to the next one.