Dandelions and Daydreams

What do concert pianists, professional football players, and writers all have in common?

If they want to be good great at their craft, they all have to practice…daily!

As we sit back with our cup of morning coffee–or tea, if you prefer–we dream of writing.  As every aspiring writer knows, when the time is right (when I retire, when the kids are grown, when life slows down, when I save enough to take a month off from my job…) that we will be able to sit down and pound out a Pulitzer Prize winning book.

And if you are ever going to get that published book or article, you need to start now.  Drink your tea and sit down for some daily writing practice.

How do I approach daily writing practice?

The possibilities for how to practice writing are endless.  Use any or all the following methods to stretch the author within you.

1.   Morning Pages–three pages, single spaced, handwritten, writing down whatever comes to your mind.  Don’t stop writing until you reach the end of three pages.  Don’t critique.  Don’t correct.  Just write.  (this suggestion is from The Right to Write)
2. Blogging–pick a niche you are interested in and research/write articles. Your blog posts today could become a published article tomorrow
3. Maintain a swipe file– whenever you read a magazine, newspaper,website, or etc. Look for attention grabbing headlines, watch for topics that interest you. Collect these articles and use them later to create your own version.
4. Writing Prompts–The internet is full of writing prompt lists and generators. My favorite writing prompt list is the monthly calendar from Toasted Cheese, a website devoted to helping writers pursue their craft. Other good websites for writing prompts are: Creative Writing Prompts, Writers Digest, and Prompt Generator.
5. Books–Get a book on writing or creativity and do the suggested exercises. My favorites are The Right to Write, Writing Down the Bones, and The Artist’s Way.

Start today.  Write, and write often.  Don’t critique.  Don’t edit.  Let the creative, imaginative, vibrant author  grow and  flourish.

You don’t have to be published to be an author and a writer.  All you have to do is write.

Writing is like breathing

Warning the Wicked

Books on my Short List To Read

Mother

Time Thieves, the internet, and a 30 day vacation

Tags: blogging, practice, The Right to write, Writing Life, writing prompts

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 11:56 am and is filed under Writing Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.