Tag Archives: challenge

What are your writing fears? Preparing for the June Writing Challenge.

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We are coming up on another month with 30 days in it.

What a great time to create a new writing habit and complete a new challenge.

 

In preparing for next month, begin to think about what you are afraid of when it comes to your writing. What subjects are you afraid of addressing? What forms are you afraid of writing in? Where are you afraid to take your characters?

Begin to compile a list of these things.

Starting June 1st, you are going to tackle them. Write the story, poem, or article you are afraid to write. Put pen to paper and get down huge sections of the memoir that has been haunting you. Tackle forms and genres that you have found difficult.

June will be when you face your writing fears.


Get prepared now.

Creativity Sundays: Try something new

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This week, take some time to try a different creative outlet. Try to pick something that you don’t normally do. Flex your skills in a different arena. There are a ton of ways to be creative. Whatever you pick make sure that you give it your all and enjoy it.

Expand your creative mind!

Creativity Sundays – Get creative with how you get creative.

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So you have fallen behind on those resolutions or plans you had for the new year. Perhaps your creativity challenge is a day late (a little like this post). Or maybe you are a couple days of your “everyday” challenges.

Don’t worry. Today is a new day. Start over.

Don’t be afraid to alter your challenge. Instead of saying you are going to write or draw or compose everyday, try saying that you will simply create everyday. Make a conscious effort to be creative everyday. Or look at why you have fallen off and adjust accordingly.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. It will stifle your creativity.

So today, if you are bogged down by your usual forms of creativity, try something new. Step completely outside of your box. Do things a little differently.

Get creative with how you get creative!

Creativity Sundays: Expand your vocabulary!!!

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No matter what you method of being creative, it is always very important to expand your vocabulary. You can never know too many words.

Granted, as a writer, it is possible to use too many complicated words when simple ones will do. However, you still should know the complicated ones and what they mean.

Wordplay is fun. Creating art based on a new word is fun.

Here are some words you may or may not know. Attempt to use a few of the ones you aren’t familiar with in your next creative project or add them in to a current project.

officious
impassive
monstrosity
sanguine
conspicuous
toothsome
fervent
fruition
nuance
segue
treacherous
rampage
sumptuous
seamy
neurosis
leaven
culpable
zany
coddle
lacerate
goblet
brusque
menagerie
fractious
eccentric
braggadocio
heresy
glean
uncivilized
sensationalism
placate
recompense
hazy
insinuate

Want to find new words on your own?

  • Get a dictionary app or follow one on social media. Most post words of the day.
  • Open a dictionary to a random page and pick out a word you don’t know.
  • Take words you do know and look them up in the thesaurus for alternatives you may not have thought of.
  • Learn a new language.
  • Keep your eyes and your ears open.

30 in 30: Day 30 – I hope you didn’t need a prompt to finish…

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I hope you didn’t need a prompt to finish.

But if you do…

Write about accomplishing a goal. No matter how small it is, write about what it means to either you or your character.

Happy Writing!

30 in 30: Day 29 – Embrace change

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Change something about your project today. Change your character in some way. Alter their perception or change their mind about something important. Change your direction. Turn left when you were clearly supposed to go right. Change the way you write a poem. Pick today to rhyme. Change the way you approach an essay. If you typically do a lot of research, go off the top of your head today.

 

Embrace change today and have some fun with it!

30 in 30: Day 27 – Insert your favorite dish

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Give something edible a staring role. Take the focus off of conflict, drama, or whatever else is going on in your writing and focus on the food.

Make sure to use all five senses.

Most of all, make sure to have fun writing!

30 in 30: Day 26 – Give Thanks

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Really simple… the topic is being thankful and grateful.

Work it in.

Work it out.

Have some fun!

30 in 30: Day 25 – Better late then never…

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Insert a bit of lateness in your piece. It can be an ode to how you feel about timeliness or it can be a bad habit your character has. A poem about time works too. Heck, you can even make a list of excuses as to why you are late.

 

Have fun with it!

30 in 30: Day 24 – Channel your energy

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Have you ever had someone tell you to write it out?

Even if you are feeling something that doesn’t seem to fit with what you are working, you should always try to find a way to channel that energy and throw it into your project.

This doesn’t always mean that your characters or your piece has to match the emotions you are feeling. Sometimes you  need to turn those emotions into motivation and write them out. Turn that stress and frustration into a beautifully creative piece. Use boredom as a time to throw your imagination into emergency boot camp.

 

So take whatever you are feeling and channel it. If you need to, time yourself to up the challenge factor.

 

Try to have some fun with this.