Inspiration

I've noticed that when I'm writing I get inspiration for new stories and ideas everywhere and at any time. Ideas for stories, papers, poems,etc I find come at times that aren't always the most convenient. When I was back in high school I was taking a creative writing class and we were given the assignment to parody a song. I was stuck in the first drive-thru window at McDonalds and then all of a sudden I was hit I got an idea for my parody. All I had available to write my parody down with was a dull pencil and some receipt paper. I printed out a length of receipt paper and started writing. Within a few mintues I had a parody draft written and just like that my homework was done.

Another good example of inspiration hitting when you least expect it is my junior year of college. My friend and I a couple days earlier had gone to pick up her wedding dress. On the way she asked me if I would read a poem at her wedding, of course I agreed. Then she told me that she wanted me to write the poem then read it. I asked if she was sure since my typical writing style at the time was murder mystery. She said she was sure and she trusted me. I had, I think a week before the wedding when she asked me, and finals at school. I was starting to get worried about the poem and I spent the night studying for one of my exams and then hit the hay. Out of a dead sleep I woke up, grabbed a note book and pen from next to the bed and started writing. I wrote straight for 20mins without my glasses on before I was done. I looked at the clock it was almost 1 am. I put the pen and notebook down shut the light out and fell back asleep. A week later I was back in Calais in front of my friend, her husband, and their guests reading the poem. I could tell by looking at her face that I'd done what I'd been asked to do and I felt good about giving them something personalized and just for them.

ne of the great things about being a writer is that inspiration is around every corner just waiting for someone to notice it and take advantage of it. It could be anything a word, a phrase, a picture, a building, anything to get those gears going and the ideas spilling out. Because of this I like to have a notebook and pen with me at all times. I like to keep a camera handy too in case I see something that inspires me so I can snap a picture of it so I won't forget it. Thankfully now I have a phone with a camera so i don't have to have my actual camera with me all the time.

Inspiration is a wonderful thing that can hit like a bolt of lightening and vanish just as quickly. It doesn't care if you have a pen and paper ready, or what time of day it is. I'll stay up all night writing something for a story down just so I get it all down and won't forget it. Inspiration is a writer's best friend and sleep's worst enemy.

Writer's Journal

When I was in High School the University of Maine at Machias hosted a Writing Workshop for young writers. My creative writing teacher suggested it so my mom and I went. While I was at the workshop I learned a lot of things but one of the biggest things that stuck with me was the idea of a writer's notebook. As we left the workshop I convinced my mom to stop somewhere so I could get a Writer's notebook.

I have had many different notebooks since but the idea behind them all is the same. In my notebook I can write down story ideas, character descriptions, things I see I want to remember, quotes I like, I can also add pictures postcards and other little doodads that interest me.

I always try to keep some sort of notebook with me. i have small notebooks that I keep in the center console of my car and one in my purse. Then I also have my writer's notebook. This is a small three ring binder. I like this because it's easy to add and remove pages. I have decorated the outside to reflect my personality. I love my writer's notebook because it gives me a place to put ideas and it is also a great place to pull ideas from if I get stuck.

Editing

Right off the bat I'm going to admit it I"m awful at editing. Okay, well maybe not awful but pretty bad. I attribute my bad editing practices in part to the fact that I was never directly taught grammar in school. Now when I told a college professor  this she asked me how I'd made it to college. Basically I taught myself, learned from what teachers marked on my papers, and there was a major cram session with my mom before a grammar test. I can sort of tell when things are in the wrong spot or missing but if you ask me to point things out I'm doomed.

Now when it comes to editing for content I'm much better. I"m good at making sure the story flows, characters don't drastically change, etc. This part of the editing I really enjoy, especially in my own writing because it means I can identify parts that aren't working and change them This is part of the editing process is important because what makes sense in our heads as writers doesn't always translate to paper as well. Because this type of editing makes changes to the story I've found that writers, myself included, are a little more resistant to these changes. As long as your changes are honest and productive they're easier to make.

Since I write by hand I take advantage  of this and two edits. The first edit is on the hard copy. I used colored pens or markers and make what grammatical corrections I can. Here I'm not really reading the story as going through line by line. Next I type the piece. As I'm typing I'm reading the story so here I'm able to edit the content of the story. As I type I make changes, then I have someone else check it over a final time.

So if you're like me and lack skills in editing it pays to have two things. One, a supply of books like Elements of Style and Painless Grammar on hand. And two, friends who respond to facebook pleas for editors with no pay.

Poetry

This can be a very scary word for writers. I know it was for me for a very long time. I would try to write poetry and it would end up sounding stupid and really cheesy. In my head poetry was something that rhymed and everything had a deeper meaning to it. So in other words I was thinking too much and now I've come to realized that the best poetry doesn't require anything you just go with it and feel it.

The first poem I wrote that I was really happy with was called "Lost Innocence" and I wrote it just after my great-grandmother died. I was a sophomore in high school and one day after I found out about my great-grandmother's passing I sat in my room and put pen to paper. I've gound that when something really emotional has happened I tend to deal with it through my poetry.

I don't write poetry consistantly, but when I do write it I feel it. That's not to say that I haven't written more light hearted poetry but I do that less. I have only ever written two love poems and both were at the request of friends for their weddings. I was a nervous wreck about it but the finished products speak for themselves.

There is one poem that I've written that I have committed to memory. On the last day of my creative writing class my sophomore year of college our assignment was to write four lines of iambic pentameter. I put pen to paper and not even five minutes later I has this:
               I like the rain most of the time
               Except when I am forced to rhyme
               My feet are wet and I am cold
               But I will always do as told
               So here I sit and try to write
               Four lines of rhyme with all my might

The moral of the story is poetry is not something you think but something you feel. Have fun with it enjoy it, and remember poetry doesn't have to rhyme.