A Pen In Each Hand 2008

Be Brave
By fmwrites

In this month's AB article, Resolve to Evolve as a Writer, you're asked to look inside yourself and ask many questions, big and small. One of them is "What would you write if you weren't afraid?" Answer that question honestly, and then write a list of story points, a summary, or an outline to get you started on this project. Don't hold back—remember, you are allowed to dream big. But this exercise will back your dream up with an actual start on achieving it!

Does that work for you?

It literally has worked for me. An erotic tale of semi-pre-historical fiction was my "what if" and I actually included the start of this story in my Nano novel. I would have been afraid otherwise, but once I had the summary, and the "permission" inside myself, it flowed out quite nicely. I needed to actually write it out, instead of just imagining it. And now, I can't wait to finish. :-)

Rhythm is Going to Get You
By Beaver

  1. Picasso was famous for his abstract art, but he learned how to draw realistically first. Try your hand at a rhyming form of poetry like a sonnet, or even a limerick. It's a good exercise because it forces you to think about the number and pattern of beats in each line.
  2. Pick up a Magnetic Poetry kit or use the online version to play around with word placement and line breaks.
  3. Post a poem at the forums and ask readers to identify the best and worst lines.

Just Show It
By Bellman

Consider this paragraph where Pip, in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, is describing how his hands were burnt in a fire:

My hands had been dressed twice or thrice in the night, and again in the morning. My left arm was a good deal burned to the elbow, and, less severely, as high as the shoulder; it was very painful, but the flames had set in that direction, and I felt thankful it was no worse. My right hand was not so badly burnt but that I could move the fingers. It was bandaged, of course, but much less inconveniently than my left hand and arm; those I carried in a sling; and I could only wear my coat like a cloak, loose over my shoulders and fastened at the neck. My hair had been caught by the fire, but not my head or face.

Rewrite this scene so it shows Pip's pain rather than just telling us about it. Try to appeal to as many senses as you can.

The Secret to Your Success
By Billiard & Baker

Figure out how you define success. Then set some goals, small and large, and work toward them by setting yourself a writing schedule for the next week and sticking to it. (Some ideas: find a writer's group, reach 50k, research journals, submit something for publication, find an agent.)

Writers of the Round Table
By Baker

  1. Research and join an online writing group.
  2. If you already belong to a writing community, resolve to offer more critiques and post more work for feedback.
  3. Attend an offline writing group meeting. If there aren't any in your area, start your own. Libraries and bookstores can be allies in setting up and allowing a meeting space for a writers' crit group.

Go With the Flow
By Boots

Analyze your writing area. Put things into two categories, "good" and "bad." Which things are in your control and which are out of your control? Experiment with changes to see if your writing flow changes to match.

The Big Three
By Kristin Baxter

List the benefits you'd like to get from a conference in order of importance. Do you want to improve your writing, meet publishing professionals, network with your peers—or just have a professional-sounding excuse to get out of town? Figure out what's most important to you, and what features a conference should have to meet those needs. Then use the resources listed in the article to research conferences, and find at least three conferences that might fulfill your top three requirements.

Core Identities
By fmwrites

Try describing the essence, or core identity, of the brand belonging to a writer whose work you know well and admire. Then try writing one for yourself.

Five Exercises
By Baker

  1. Write a sex scene between two people. Be as explicit as you're comfortable with. Pay particular attention to details and don't be shy about language. Alternately, write a poem set during a sexual experience.
  2. Write an ordinary scene but write it in an erotic and sensual manner. For example: a woman eating an ice cream cone, a man browsing fruit at the market, a couple driving in a car or riding a train. Think of themes like desire, exploration and satisfaction.
  3. One of the most popular underground publications in Victorian England was an erotic newsletter called The Pearl (available in bound form under author "Anonymous"). The Story of O was published anonymously in the 1950s with the author's pseudonym attached 40 years later. Write an erotic story, poem or scene set in one of these time periods. Note how your characters dress, speak and act differently than they would in a contemporary piece. If you like, rewrite the scene as set in modern times, maybe mixing up the sexes of the people (or person) involved.
  4. Research erotica markets and read online journals to get familiar with the genre. Alternately you can check out erotica and other erotic literature at the library, borrow the books from friends or pick up inexpensive second-hand copies.
  5. If you're feeling bold, browse an adult toy website and write a story or poem based on something you find there (or on any object you like if you don't want to visit the 18+ sites). Clean Sheets has advertisers that can inspire your story or poem.

Brand Attributes
By fmwrites

Select one of the main attributes of your writing brand. Could be "horror featuring werewolves" or "Caribbean cooking expert" or "woodworking how-to articles." It's your pick. Now make a list of how you might expand on that attribute, to add depth or breadth to your brand of writing.

Some examples to get you thinking:

But I Can't Draw
By Beaver

Choose an event in your life that has been difficult for you to write about. Maybe you have avoided writing about it, or maybe you have tried and weren't happy with how it turned out. Be honest with yourself about why writing about this subject is difficult. Are you afraid of repercussions? Maybe writing pseudonymously would free you up. Does the idea of reliving the experience scare you? Perhaps writing in third person or fictionalizing the event might make it easier. Focus on just one scene and try approaching it in two or three different ways. Make sure to try at least one strategy that either you haven't tried before and/or you think would never work for you.

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