"Wacky Wednesdays"...Becomes "Writing Wednesdays"

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Into every blog a little transformation must fall.

I try to have a thrice-weekly theme here on Happy Ganesh. Loyal readers have probably noticed them: Manifestation Mondays, Wacky Wednesdays, and Fun Fridays.

 

Well, we're making a change to our HG blog family today. Goodbye "Wacky Wednesdays". You've served us well. Thank you, good luck and enjoy your retirement.

Hello, Writing Wednesdays, where for hump day, I'll blog about writing - the pleasures of it, quotes about it, and how to do it.

Today? Let's talk about how to get started. Just do it, as Nike famously says. In my other offline life, I have worked with students of all ages, most of them struggling with how to write research papers. (When my college students were not texting their friends under their desks while pretending to care about their education, they could be quite charming. Even when they walked into my office, slumped in their chair and looked panicked, some still managed to want to write, even through a haze of college jitters. )

Anyhow, no matter the age or school level of the student (I've worked with nine year olds to post-doc psychologists), these same three questions come up:

1. How do I get started?


2. Is this spelled right? What's a comma do?


3. How do I keep writing? Is this long enough?

The answers to those ever-popular questions are (more or less)

1) Where Do I Begin?: Begin anywhere. It doesn't matter where. Most writers don't actually work from an outline. Some do. Some begin from a rough idea of a plot. Some write entirely from a pre-planned outline and don't deviate from it one bit. Some go until they are done (see #3). Some get a great idea for the One Fantastic Scene and write towards that. It really depends on you. But in order to begin? You have to begin. Just jump in.

2) The Grammar Thing: Google is great for this. Pay attention to grammar and punctuation. Diana Hacker's grammar books are easy to follow and fantastic. Plus, I'm here. And if you ask nicely, I might be convinced to answer a question or two for free - or at least point you in the right direction. (And if you've already written that book and need help, go here.)

Commas are not exactly pauses for breath. While they may sound like that, here's what they actually do

• punctuate a list ("Mary likes apples, carrots, and grapes.")


• go in front of a transition word ("Frankly, I don't give a damn!")


• separate two independent clauses from each other ("The cat drank milk, and the dog drank water.")

Really dying to know more about commas? I know you are. I know you're gagging and dying and writhing to know. Then go here.

There's more of course, but that's enough for now. The gist of that is all to say that - if you really want to write - don't worry about grammar, at least not right (write! ha!) away. Get started. Do a draft. Worry about punctuation later. (Or if you want to learn more, check out Diana Hacker's site)

3) How do I keep writing? How long is long enough?: You keep writing by putting your butt in the chair and putting your hands on the keyboard and moving them around until you produce first letters, then words, then sentences, then entire paragraphs that help you build a story.

It really is that simple. If you do it enough, you will learn how to open up communication with yourself. It's an amazing and wonderful thing.

What's also simple is time. If you want to write, you find the time. It's that simple. If you have to set an alarm, and you write from 5 pm to 5:05 every single day for a week, at the end of seven days, you have 35 minutes worth of writing. 35 entire minutes that belong to you and your story.

For more inspiration, check out my Fiver List blog from a few months back.

Try a few of these questions to get started.

1) A woman is alone on a dirt path. She carries a suitcase. Where is she going?

2) The dog bounds up to you, friendly and wagging his tail. Where did he come from?

3) Your favorite book character shows up at your front door, unannounced, as favorite fictional book characters tend to sometimes do. Who is there? What does he or she say to you?

Happy, happy writing!

See you on Friday, when I'll have more Astro updates. <3

Creative Writing Prompt: Rainy Morning and Staying Put

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How often do we ignore a change in the weather? Not open our doors and windows? I do it plenty.

One thing can change your day. The heat of the sun. Cold rain. The smell of dirt as we plant something in the garden.

 

I began the day carefully and slowly, questions building in my head as they do every morning. I get dressed on the second to last day of vacation and come downstairs. I'm prepared to go out jogging in the newly windy Florida day. Instead, I read a book, I lounge. I lazily take advantage of the time my university is off school.

I gave up running. A storm kicked up. The kind of windy, barely-supressed, rainy, flesh-tingling storm that opens gardens wider and makes you feel a little more alive.

I did something I haven't done since starting to revamp this house. I opened the back windows to catch the Florida storm. (We had to commit to new windows a few months ago. They were needed, thirty years of water and wear had destroyed the old ones.)

I turned the small couch around so its facing the back garden. I pulled back the drapes and opened the back door. It feels stiff and new in my hand, the factory newness reflecting off every shiny surface of it.

Now, the cold, clear air blows through the living room. The Bougainvillea tree is scattering dark purple petals over the yard. Some flower fragments have danced their way up to the closed screen door. Every time another gust of wind comes through, I can feel it all over.My nose feels it and responds accordingly. Twitch. Twitch. Breathe.

I can smell the cold and the rain through the open door. A neighbor is smoking and even though he is smoking in his yard, just next door, I can smell a much-watered down version of smoke. Every few seconds the wind pulls the sheer curtains tight against the screen and then they dance back, flapping wildly.

If I hadn't turned the couch around, I would have missed this. The smell, the cold rain. Glorious. I'm not thinking about my questions or my worries - or the how, what, why, how can I, what can I, where.

I'm here.

Creative Writing Prompt: Nature and Me

1. When was the last time you connected with nature?


2. Where were you?


3. How did it feel?


4. Did it change your day for the better or worse? How?


5. What colors were active in nature that day? Describe them.