This week’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom come from Anton Chekhov, a Russian writer and playwright who is seen as one of the best short story writers in history. Chekhov contributed much to the modern short story and he certainly knew how to craft words in a compelling way. Continue reading “Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Anton Chekhov”
Tag: Writing Woes
Monday Minute: Do You Hate Reading Your Own Writing?
I came to this realization the other day. While reading through an incomplete fan fiction story, I had the urge to quickly scan through my chapters and just be done with it. I felt like the writing was too choppy, too cluttered with unnecessary words and too juvenile. I’ve always wondered if this feeling was normal and after some research, I discovered that it’s actually quite common.
Continue reading “Monday Minute: Do You Hate Reading Your Own Writing?”
Monday Minute: How to Cure Your Post-Camp NaNoWriMo Blues
Camp NaNoWriMo ended just two days ago and I’m feelin’ the blues. Cue B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.” I always feel a little down when NaNoWriMo ends–whether in November or April. Writing can sometimes be a lonely task and it’s nice to have that community that NaNo gives you. So here are my tips on how to recover from your post-NaNo blues. Continue reading “Monday Minute: How to Cure Your Post-Camp NaNoWriMo Blues”
Monday Minute: A Word on Working Titles
Since the beginning of April, I’ve been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo. It was really a spontaneous decision because I hadn’t planned on doing it. However, the thought of writing a gothic horror novel appealed to me so much that I thought April was the perfect time to start writing another novel. It’s been smooth sailing so far but one aspect I struggle with is coming up with a title–even a working one.
AFRICA SINGS!
Great blog post on African music and its many cultures.
I have been in love with the beauty, joy, sorrow, and enchantment that is African music.
From the ethereal lyrics of Eneida Marta, the power and upbeat of Angelique Kidjo, to the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti that describes his fusion of West African music with Black American music, to benga, chimuringa, gnawa, the iscathamiya made by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, griot, the mbalax Senegalese (Wolof) percussion music modernized by Youssou N’Dour, marabi, mbaqanga popularized by Johnny Clegg and the Mahatolla Queens, and the wassoulo, to name just a few—–African music, songwriting and singing is as varied as the continent itself.
Instruments played by African singers include instruments indigenous to Africa before European invasion and instruments incorporated into their singing and playing styles after the colonization of Africa. Those instruments are the kalimba or mbira (thumb piano); the balafon (marimba), and the xylophone (considered to have ancient African origins by Roger Blench); the…
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Friday Funny – Technology
A funny perspective on technology and how it affects us. Enjoy!
Before the computer
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!
Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account!
And if you had a broken disk,
It would hurt when you found out!
Compress was something you did to garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You’d be in jail for awhile!
Log on was adding wood to a fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!
Cut–you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider’s home
And a virus was the flu!
I guess I’ll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear…
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Words of Wisdom: John Green
My whole theme this week has been about revision. Not surprising, considering that it’s the stage I’m at with my writing. I think what has surprised me most about revision so far is how much can get rewritten and changed from the first draft. After reading through a couple of chapters and making some revision notes, I decided to rewrite my entire story.
Yep, the entire thing.
Monday Minute: Facing the First Draft
I decided that March would be my month of revision for my WIP (work-in-progress) and I thought that sharing my experiences would help me make sense of it all. As much as I like writing though, I really struggle with revision. Revision’s even harder when you don’t like your first draft. At all. Continue reading “Monday Minute: Facing the First Draft”
Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Sylvia Plath
This week’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom come from Sylvia Plath about finding material everywhere in life. The big question is often: what do I write about? I’ve heard different pieces of advice about this such as “write what you know” or “write about what you love” but while these are good rules of thumb, I believe that with a little research and creativity, we can write about anything.
Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Anne Lamott
Today’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom come from writer Anne Lamott. I read Anne Lamott’s book on writing called Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life in preparation for NaNoWriMo. Compared to other books on writing advice, it’s extremely funny and extremely honest, giving you a candid and real look at what the life of being a writer entails.
Creative Writing For Me 