It is amazing how many bloggers have made writing a hobby. So many have, that in nearly half the blogs I know of, the authors have shared at least little bits and pieces of their latest writing masterpiece that they are working on at the moment. It is exciting to see their excitement as they post updates of their projects and talk about the latest tips and tricks they have discovered. I myself enjoy writing. If there is a topic that I am interested in I would be more than glad to write up a paper for it....but it's just not that easy.
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By the way, A "haikus" is a short Japanese poem
that usually consists of three sentences. |
Sadly, I am by no means a naturally effective writer. To name a couple of the problems I have with writing are: a tendency to write like I talk....and y'all writers know what a dilemma that can be when trying to write a story or even a blog post. Perhaps even worse, is my being overly perfectionistic. According to a book called the First Born Advantage (and according to most everyone in my family) this is a pretty big problem with most anything I do, not only writing. You will not believe how many blog posts I have started and never finished! My word processor is one of the most space consuming programs on my computer because of how many pages I start and never finalize. Another problem that I have with my writing is that I become very nervous and lack confidence when it comes to someone checking my writing work. You all may not believe what a push it is for me to hand Mom my draft and walk away. Just the thought of someone checking what I did and giving their critique makes me quiver. It's not that I do not want their critique, it's just that I am not confident that I actually wrote everything out correctly or that it is even worth calling a post or paper or whatever it is I am writing.
Some of you may be wondering why I desire to write if I have such a problem doing it. The reason I desire to write is because of several reasons combined.
First, I can feel in myself an urge to write....so even though I may not feel an inspiration to write at some moments, I still feel the urge to sit down and type something out. I feel confident that this must be God wanting me to learn how to write more effectively. Perhaps he is preparing me for writing about Him or his attributes one day.
Secondly, I feel that writing properly is something that will come in handy all throughout my life. Even though I have decided with much happiness that my future will be spent taking care of my future husband and children, hopefully, writing is something that if I have mastered, I will be able to do it effectively with little effort in the spare time I find and perhaps create my own masterpieces.
Now this third reason may have nothing to do with it, though I feel that it most likely does. I enjoy doing things with my fingers. I enjoy typing, playing the piano and when I hear people talking I have a tendency to type out on my lap what they are saying. I know that may sound strange but I do love to do things with my fingers, so that could also be a reason why I like to write.
The reasons I stated above are definitely not the whole list....there is probably many more reasons out there which I am yet to discover or remember as life goes on. As I continue to write, I pray that God will help me to get over my fears of failing....of trying to be too perfectionistic with my writing, of writing like I would talk, and that He would help me not to worry but to give thanks and praise for everything He has done to help me improve upon my writing skills.
So I thought that I would add a condensed list of some tips and tricks that have helped me with writing. Some of these ideas fellow bloggers have shared with me although most of them are either ones I thought of or ones that I really benefited from out of my grammar book. Here are 5 of my favorite tips to help me when I get stuck in my writing.
1. Don't try to start off your story at the very beginning. Go to the middle or the most exciting/intensive part of your story or whichever part excites you the most and begin to write. This technique not only helps relieve the stress of trying to find the perfect opener to your story at the very front, but helps you to discover your characters attributes as they deal with the situation so you can better portray them when you jump back up to the beginning of your story.
2. If you feel stressed or you can't figure out what happens next in your story, stop writing and go do something else. I find that doing my chores is the key for me to start thinking of ideas for my story without stressing myself out by forcing myself to give it my undivided attention.
3. If you find yourself to be a highly scheduled person, (you like everything to be written out with time slots next to it telling you when to begin and end) then perhaps you should schedule your writing time. Get a piece of paper and write an estimate of how much time you want (or have) to spend in writing then write down that you have 10 minutes to write, then 5 minutes to take a break, then 10 minutes to write and so on until you have filled in your schedule. To make it even more scheduled, in your 5 minute break time write what you will be doing during your break time. (Read a chapter out of a book, play a short card game on the computer, brush your hair, etc.)
4. Read other peoples ideas. Suppose you are having trouble with your writing and need some ideas. One of the best ways to find neat tips for writing is to read what helps them....you never know....maybe their tips could help you too! You can look at other peoples blog posts on writing helps and perhaps even contact them with your questions to see if they can help you out.
5. If your stuck on your story and can't figure out what to do next, try reading a story book and get some ideas. The book does not necessarily have to be fiction. History is often more realistic anyway...but take an event that happens in that story and mold it and change it around to where it will fit into yours. For instance, lets say you are making a story about a family going on a trip from America to another country for the first time. They just got off the airplane. Maybe you are stuck at this point wondering what happens when they come off the plane. Then, you do as I recommended in number 4 and come upon the blog Proclaiming Grace and Evangela tells you to read a book and get an idea for your story. :) So you pick up the book closest to you which happens to be Kirsten (for you AG girls:) and you read about how Kirsten gets lost once she comes off the immigrant ship. You decide that is just what you need to add some excitement for your story so you decide to twist it a little bit, so as to make it your own, and there you go! Now you can hurry on with the rest of your story. WARNING! Don't do this too often....you do not want your story to sound too much like all the other stories out there. No one will want to read it because they have most likely read every chapter you have in another book!
It is amazing all the different ideas that are being shared all over the place, every minute, especially in the world of writing. Do you have a favorite idea for making writing easier and more effective for you? I would love to hear any the ideas for effective writing...your own pen and paper masterpiece, whether it is a hobby of yours or just school work.
