Writing Prompt--Journal Writing for the New Year

Most of the writing books, I've read endorse journaling--for pracitice, to mine for ideas, to work through writer's block, etc. I keep a writer's notebook of sorts. It is small enough to fit in my purse. I jot down ideas, resources, even short pieces as they come to me, but it isn't a daily exercise.

I plan to make daily journaling part of my writing improvement plan for 2006. There are 400 pages of unlined journal pages awaiting me. I chose unlined pages, because I want to try some drawing and webbing activities I've encountered. We're going to see if I can become prolific.

This is not a New Year's resolution. It's a goal. There's a difference--subtle--but still a difference.

2006

Happy New Year!

2006

Desiré

Check out the Journal Writing Resources at Creativity-Portal.com

"The Art of Journal Writing
Journey of 1,000 words...
Do you want to start your own journal or diary? How about setting up your own electronic journal (or blog)? Do you want to discover the therapeutic aspects of writing, or need some inspiration for writing topics? If so, you'll find a wealth of information and articles here geared towards journaling, writing prompts, and blogging. "

--Chris Dunmire, Creativity-Portal.com

Elements of Style

In summaries, keep to one tense.

In summarizing the action of a drama, the writer should always use the present tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, he should preferably use the present, though he may use the past if he prefers. If the summary is in the present tense, antecedent action should be expressed by the perfect; if in the past, by the past perfect.

An unforeseen chance prevents Friar John from delivering Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo. Juliet, meanwhile, owing to her father's arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding, has been compelled to drink the potion on Tuesday night, with the result that Balthasar informs Romeo of her supposed death before Friar Lawrence learns of the nondelivery of the letter.

Best Author Blogs from the Internet Writing Journal

"The Best Author Blogs

It is no secret that authors write some of the very best blogs. Our editors have compiled a list of author blogs that they believe are truly outstanding. Although the styles and subject matter of the author blogs vary widely, they all share two important qualities: they are all frequently updated and interesting to read. "

Click on the link in the title of this post to learn more.

Interesting Quote: Susan Sontag

The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996.

QUOTATION:
AIDS obliges people to think of sex as having, possibly, the direst consequences: suicide. Or murder.
ATTRIBUTION:
Susan Sontag (b. 1933), U.S. essayist. AIDS and Its Metaphors, ch. 7 (1989).
BIOGRAPHY:
Columbia Encyclopedia.

Word for the Week: resolute

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

resolute[1,adjective]
Main Entry: 1res·o·lute
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin resolutus, past participle of resolvere
1 : marked by firm determination : RESOLVED
2 : BOLD, STEADY

Writing Prompt

"Patricia Lee Lewis has led writing retreats at Patchwork Farm in western Massachusetts since 1992, and internationally since 1996." This week's prompt is taken from her website. Click on the link in the title of this post to visit and learn more about the Patchwork Farm Retreats she administers.

Writing prompt for this week:
Open a book or magazine to any page. Close your eyes and run a finger over a page. let the finger stop. Use whatever it is pointing to as a place to begin writing. Write 25 minutes.

More on Chararacter Writing

Every writer develops their own set of best practices to help get the writing job done. I hope that these resources help you find yours.
D.M. H.


Fiction Writing and Characterization
Fiction writers generally come in two kinds: those who are strong on plot, and those who are strong on characterization. Rarely is a writer brilliant at both...

Elements of Style; Words and Expressions Commonly Misused

(Many of the words and expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style, the commonplaces of careless writing. As illustrated under Feature, the proper correction is likely to be not the replacement of one word or set of words by another, but the replacement of vague generality by definite statement.)

All right. Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." In other uses better avoided. Always written as two words.

As good or better than. Expressions of this type should be corrected by rearranging the sentence.

My opinion is as good or better than his.
My opinion is as good as his, or better (if not better).

Use the link in the title of this post to view more at Bartleby.com.

Interesting Quote: Amy Lowell

Amy Lowell:
All books are either dreams or swords,You can cut, or you can drug, with words.
Sword Blades and Poppy Seed

Word for the Week: circumscribe

circumscribe • \SER-kum-skrybe\ • verb 1 a : to constrict the range or activity of definitely and clearly b : to define or mark off carefully 2 a : to draw a line around *b : to surround by or as if by a boundary
Example sentence:Horses grazed in a paddock circumscribed by a lovely white picket fence.

Writing Prompt from Creativity Portal

Winter Writing PromptsCold, snowy winter weather! Looking for some inspiration or the "write" kind of prompting for the winter season? Never fear, look right here! We have writing prompts and photo inspiration to help you through your winter writing block!

Character Development

You may find Peder Hill's website a helpful resource as you make your novel or story writing journey.

Character Development drives Conflict

All stories are about people, even when they're about rabbits. And the stories that move us most, the ones that stick inside years later, are those inhabited by characters we can connect with and admire.

The Elements of Style

"A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.

Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.

The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. If the writer wishes to make it refer to the woman, he must recast the sentence:......."

Interesting Quote--Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.

Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Holiday Reading and Gift Giving Suggestions

A Time to Read: Alan Cheuse's Holiday List
Time to read during the holidays, away from school and work, is a gift you give yourself, author and book critic Alan Cheuse says. His suggested list of 2005 holiday gifts includes tales of space, dinosaurs, music and a mystical poet.---from NPR.org

Word for the Week: Merriam-Webster's #1 Word for the Year--Integrity

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2005

Based on your online lookups, the #1 Word of the Year for 2005 was:

1. integrityPronunciation: in-'te-gr&-tE
Function: noun
1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY
2 : an unimpaired condition : SOUNDNESS
3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS
synonym see HONESTY

Click on each of the other words in the Top Ten List for their definitions in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
2. refugee 3. contempt 4. filibuster 5. insipid 6. tsunami 7. pandemic 8. conclave 9. levee10. inept

Writing Prompt--Write a new carol with an old tune.

Take your favorite Holiday tune or any other and write new lyrics about the topic of your choice.
Feel free to post it up when you're finished. I've chosen The Twelve Days of Christmas. I've only gotten as far as the first line--

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
a gift card for lots of coffee.....

Have fun!

Tookie can't get no love--That is a double negative!

Tookie Williams' life may be forfeit on Dec. 13th. The Governator is hearing testimony for and against granting clemency to Tookie as debate on the matter continues to rage in the media. The clock is ticking;the sands of time are running out; a day of reckonin' is a comin'--pick your metaphor then consider the position stated by this article.

Throw Away The Key claims at the end of this news release that they are nonpartisan and nonprofit, but the tone of this article and their website begs a question. When does justice become little more than vengeance?

Throw Away The Key: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Urged to Deny Clemency for Unrepentant Killer Stanley 'Tookie' Williams
12/7/2005 9:30:00 AM
To: State Desk
Contact: Michael Paranzino of Throw Away The Key, 202-253-4863 or http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=57732&Link=mailto:media@throwawaythekey.org
KENSINGTON, Md., Dec. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Throw Away The Key, an education and advocacy group that works to reduce crime rates, today urged California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to deny clemency for Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, a four-time, convicted, unrepentant killer who founded the violent Crips gang. Rich Hollywood stars have rallied to Williams' side, while his victims are nearly forgotten. A multiracial jury convicted Williams of killing four people in cold blood. The most liberal courts in the nation have all upheld the convictions. Now, after 25 years of frivolous appeals, Williams is finally scheduled to face justice for his four cruel murders of honest, hard-working people....

Building Characters

You may find Charlotte Dillon's website helpful as you develop characters for your fiction pieces.

Building Fictional Characters One Stranger at a Time

Building a fictional character is the same thing as meeting a stranger and getting to know her. Take that meeting one step at a time, or as the old saying goes, peal that onion one layer at a time. With each layer you'll get to know more about that stranger, and your character will become a fully developed person to you and your readers..........

Strunk and White: The Elements of Style

Use the active voice.

The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive:

I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

This is much better than

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise. If the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting "by me,"..............

Interesting Quote: Gandhi

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody will see it.--Gandhi

Word for the Week comes from Luciferous Logolepsy

Writers deeply engaged in their art discover words that are new to them. We accomplish this through our ongoing reading. Good writers read often and endeavor to engage texts that will lead to their personal expansion. We must in order to increase our ability to relay meaning to others. During such exercises, we can reasonably expect to encounter an obscure word or even two. The website, Luciferous Logolepsy, seeks to provide an accessible means to learn the definitions of such words, but remember, it is always best to check more than one source.


dacrygelosis
n. - condition of alternating laughing and crying
He found the old man in a state of dacrygelosis and sought a physician immediately.

Writing Prompt--Tera's Wish

Check out this website. It's full of fun ideas to get the creative fires burning!

idea catcher
When my friend Debbie Kaput passed away, I realized for the first time that I had stopped writing in my journal. It wasn't deliberate, it just took a while to get that box unpacked, and by the time I did I had gotten out of the habit. The reason that Debbie's death brought it up for me was that I was searching for a connection to her and so I went to my journal to read about our times together.
http://www.teraswish.com/ideacatcher.htm

Craft--Elements of Fiction--Character

Character
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
Character may mean:
Persons:
Fictional character
Video game character, either a player character or a non-player character
Moral character
Character structure, in psychology, a constellation of enduring motivational and other traits that are manifested in the ways that an individual reacts to various challenges
Symbols:
Grapheme such as a letter, ideogram, numeral, or punctuation mark
Character (computing)
Character (mathematics)
Character (1997 movie)
Character (album) by Dark Tranqullity
Sacramental character, a supernatural mark made on a person's soul by Catholic sacraments

Mechanics--The Elements of Style

Hello All!

Our grammar text for the month will be The Elements of Style. For many people, it holds the honor of being the first style and grammar handbook, aside from a classroom English/Compostion textbook, they use. It proves equally useful for academic and general writing. You can find it online at Bartleby.com, until you buy a copy of your own.

"The Elements of Style

William Strunk, Jr.

Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book is a must-have for any student and conscientious writer. Intended for use in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated."