Nourishing Your Writing

During this growing season, there are some parallels between gardening and writing that have occurred to me. Just as I have to nourish my garden regularly with water and fertilizer, so do I have to nourish my writing with regular practice and attention. A well-tended garden gives back produce and beauty. A well-tended writing practice gives back recognition and inspiration. I have to work at my garden for it to flourish and this sometimes means making some difficult cuts. Not every bud will transform into a bloom or fruit and not every plant will survive. But in order for the garden to survive as a whole, I have to be willing to prune regularly and let go of the stems and leaves and shoots that don't appear to be thriving. It's the careful pruning that ensures my garden will not only thrive, but burst with growth. Likewise, not all of my writing will thrive either and I have to be willing to let go of ideas that don't work, projects that don't seem to be growing in a productive way, and work that may not be the quality I want it to be. It's difficult to cut or toss writing that I've put a lot of effort into, but if I want my writing to flourish as a whole, I have to be willing to cull the bad writing so that the good writing can come through. In the end, my garden thanks me for the careful attention and pruning and pays me back with a beautiful display and harvest to enjoy. My writing practice will pay me back too and, if I tend it well, will reward me with the satisfaction of publishing success.

The Emotional Impact of Language

Writers have a powerful tool at their disposal - language. To use this tool effectively, we need to understand the emotional impact words have on readers. It doesn't matter what type of writing we do, our primary objective always has to be to connect with readers. This means being aware of the emotional charge certain words carry and selecting those words carefully to evoke the desired reaction in readers. Too often, writers convey their messages in neutral language that informs but does not move readers. Their writing may be technically perfect, but it fails to inspire. Being aware of the connotation of words, not just their denotation, is critical in composing prose or poetry that will change the way readers feel and think. And after all, that's why we write - to have this kind of profound impact on readers. There are certain words in every culture that are heavily laden with meaning and symbolism. Readers will have a strong, visceral reaction to them and these are the kinds of words we can use to get our message across more powerfully. Think about how readers will feel - not just think - but feel after reading your words and ask yourself if your words are creating the kind of response you want. Being sensitive to the nuances in language will not only make you a better listener, but a better writer as well, because you are tuning in to the emotional frequency of human nature. And writers with their hands on the pulse of humanity have the power to change the world.

Writing With Passion

I always encourage my students to write what they are passionate about. Within the framework of their writing assignments, which are only external structures that give them general parameters, I want them to choose topics that excite them. They will write better papers if they are excited about their subject matter and they will write even better papers if they are passionate about their subject matter. This is because their natural writing abilities come through better when they aren't also challenged with a topic they find boring. When writing in an inspired frame of mind, ideas flows more easily, style comes more naturally, and the writing sounds spontaneous rather than forced. The quality of the writing increases and so does reader response. I maintain that a truly inspired piece of writing can make any subject fascinating. It's not the subject matter of what we read that snags our attention as much as the style of what we read. With passionate writing, we can be lured into all kinds of nooks and crannies that we would not otherwise have ventured into. I have read inspired student essays on subjects I know nothing about and come away with a genuine interest in a subject I had previously never given a thought to. As readers, it's the experience we're after. We want to be excited by what we read, and if you can give that to readers, your writing will have a lasting effect.

Titling Your Work

It's easy to think of titles as peripheral to your work, as something to tack on after the piece is written. But actually, titles are central to your work. They may be the last, but are certainly not the least piece of your writing. Titles can do several things. They can help announce your topic, provide a hook to draw readers in, and present the work's central message or theme. Titles should be utilized to do any or all of these things and should be carefully chosen. A weak or inappropriate title can make the difference between the failure or success of your work. It may mean the difference between someone choosing to read your work or not. That's how powerful titles are. Whether you are writing a book, a short story, an essay or a poem, your title should be something that encapsulates your work in the best way possible and draws an arrow straight to the heart of your message. The title doesn't have to be immediately understood by readers, but by the time they've finished reading your work, the title should make perfect sense to them. It should be an "aha" moment for readers, pulling everything together for them and providing an extra shot of insight. You put a lot of work into your writing. Don't let a weak title diminish all your effort. Instead, let your title be the finishing touch that brings your work full circle into a powerful, cohesive literary package.

Reaching Out

Writing is a very solitary activity and one of the challenges writers face is working in isolation. It can be very difficult to stay motivated when you work alone and it's also very easy to become discouraged when working by yourself. These are the times when you can help yourself overcome this challenge by involving yourself with the writing community. There are many ways to do this. You can communicate with other writers online or by attending writing events or joining a writing group. You can engage in one-on-one conversations with other writers you know. You can work with writing mentors and teachers. Whatever way you choose, the goal is to shake yourself loose from the discouragement solitary work can bring and allow yourself an opportunity to vent, share and recharge your batteries with others who face the same challenges. Taking this time away from the writing process can make you much more motivated and productive when you do return to writing. It will also make you less vulnerable to becoming stymied by your disappointments and frustrations. By building a network of comrade writers, you can turn a solitary writing life into a vibrant and supportive community that keeps you pumped up and ready to work. Reach out and find the support you need!

Taking Time

Why is it that when you've finished a writing project, given it all you have, and made it the best you can make it, a teacher, editor or writing group can tear it apart and find all kinds of fault? Shouldn't your effort yield more favorable responses and why does your writing look so good to you when it doesn't to others? These are perplexing questions for all writers. It's disheartening to put so much effort into our creations only to have them criticized by others. But there is a reason why this happens and happens so frequently. When you're writing something, you get engrossed in it to the point that you're focusing on the minutest of details as you work to pull your ideas together into a coherent flow. This is a good thing because it means you're minding the details and being thorough in your approach to writing. But it also means that you may be so lost in the small things that you're no longer able to see the larger picture. In other words, while the intricacies of your work may be solid, there may be larger structural issues that you're blind to but that are obvious to others. For example, your descriptive details in a story may be exemplary, but your plot may wander from the story line. The reason you can't see this is because you're too close to the story, too involved in it, to be able to step back and look at it with objective distance. This is a common problem for writers and one that can be overcome by allowing yourself some time away from a work before finalizing it. Taking time off between the rough drafts and the final draft you submit for grading or publication and allowing yourself to look at it with fresh eyes and a more detached review can go a long way toward giving you the objectivity you need to effectively polish your own work.

Writing With Purpose

I advise my beginning writing students that, above all else, they must have a clear understanding of their purpose in completing a writing assignment (beyond the obvious purpose of completing a paper that's been assigned to them). I ask them to examine their deeper purpose. Writing has to be more than conveying ideas with words. In order for your writing to resonate with readers, there has to be a message. And the clearer you are about your message, the more effective your writing will be. For instance, are you writing an essay to inform readers about the death penalty or are you writing to argue against it? Knowing your purpose can help you select the language you need to communicate your message. If you're writing to argue, for example, you know you need to select language that is persuasive, hand-picking words that are heavily laden with meaning that evoke a strong, visceral response from readers. If you just write in a general informative style, your writing will lack that argumentative edge needed to get your message (your argument) across. So, look beyond your topic and information and zero in on your specific goal. Ask yourself how you want readers to feel or react after reading your piece and then make every word count toward achieving that purpose.

Intrinsic Rewards of Writing

Much is said about dedication to writing and the need to succeed. Writers are buried in advice to write daily, push past rejection, keep a writing project in the hopper at all times, and strive toward ever higher goals of publishing. But little is said about the enjoyment of writing. Instead, writers are encouraged to approach writing like a business and discipline themselves accordingly. So much emphasis is placed on the end results of publication and monetary reward that very little time is spent exploring the experience of writing, the process and the joy that provide writing's intrinsic rewards. This seems counterintuitive when recognizing that creativity comes from a deep inner well that does not need outside validation. The act of doing the thing you love is validation and reward enough. It is because you love it so much that you can't imagine a life not doing it. You do it because you want to with every fiber of your being, not because you feel you have to for someone else. I think much of the extrinsic rewards of writing such as publication and monetary gain would be much more readily accessible for writers if they paid more attention to the intrinsic rewards and the pure joy of the act of writing. Getting in touch with why they write and celebrating that will both improve their writing and their experience in producing it. That seems like a win-win situation to me.

Breaking Writing Down

My beginning writing students often get overwhelmed at the prospect of having to write an essay. They don't even know where to begin and feel intimidated by the writing process. If you break writing down into its component parts, however, it's not so intimidating. This technique can be useful for writers of all skill levels. First, you start with an idea, a core concept around which you will build your piece. Every sentence you write should promote that core concept or advance your thinking about it in some way. You need to introduce that core idea in your first sentence. Choose a word that best represents that concept and write it down. Then choose words that will give that idea legs and help it progress into complete thoughts. Build sentences and paragraphs around those thoughts. Next, develop helper ideas that will flesh out the main idea more completely, giving it more depth and clarity. Then build sentences and paragraphs around those secondary or supporting ideas. When you first write, don't worry about having the order of your thoughts perfectly organized. The idea is to just get your ideas formed and get them down in writing. Once you've explored and expressed all your thoughts about your core idea, then begin editing what you've written. You want your writing to unfold logically, like a story, with one thought building on the next one. Number your ideas in progressive sequence and arrange your paragraphs accordingly. You now have a completed first draft that you can revise and hone into a polished piece. By breaking writing down into parts and putting those parts together like a puzzle, you can take the intimidation out of the writing process and enjoy the results of well-organized, refined work.

Inspired Writing

As a practicing writer, you want to resonate deeply with your readers. You want to inspire them. But writing prose that inspires is one of the hardest challenges writers face. To inspire, writing has to do more than inform readers. It even has to do more than entertain them. Inspiration is influencing or moving readers in a significant way. This means readers change in some tangible way as a result of what they've read. They could change the way they see themselves, see others, experience the world. Whatever it is, they experience self-transformation is some measureable way. This is an awesome challenge for a writer to aspire to, to move readers in profound ways. How can you possibly do this? The best way to achieve inspirational writing is to be inspired yourself. You have to love writing and let the words move you as much as you desire to move readers. It's important to get in touch with why you began writing in the first place. What attracted you to writing? What did it do for you? Did it comfort you during tough times, bring you joy during good times, help you understand and express yourself, help you understand the world better? Being aware of how writing affects you can help you affect others with your writing. Experiencing writing with the same emotions that brought you to it in the first place can bring a special quality to your writing that you may have lost. Take some time to inventory your relationship to writing, be inspired again, and inspire your readers in the process.