Category: writing

>How to Concentrate When Writing

>Do you have trouble concentrating when you write? Do you find thoughts of anything and everything, from laundry to weekend activities, rush into your mind? I certainly do. I know part of it is the desire to procrastinate. But some of it is just life. Many of us have families and day jobs and homes to care for. These things take time and energy both physically and mentally. So how can you escape from all these things begging for your attention? Here are a few suggestions I’ve found helpful and I hope they will help you too.Quiet outside distractions. Some […]

>Brainstorm Away with These Three Fun Techniques

>Now that you have an idea, where do you go with it? Some ideas may blossom all on their own but others may need some time and a little prodding. To help you out, I’ve reviewed three of my favorite brainstorming techniques.ClusteringI love this technique. There’s something about the circular thinking that gets ideas to connect. This is what you do:Write the initial idea in the center of the page and circle it. Branch off of that circle and write the first thing you think of related to the first idea. Then, if you think of something related to the […]

>New Short Short Story

>What happens when two nineteen-year-olds talk about their relationship? I explore an idea based on something that happened between my sister and her husband before they married. It’s a quick, lighthearted read. Enjoy! “Blur” There are three ways I can win this fight, Terry thought. He could pretend he hadn’t heard her. He could pretend he didn’t understand her. Or he could say something completely irrelevant.“Let’s get married,” he said.“What?”“Why talk about our relationship when we can do something about it?”“It’s way too early. I just want to know if we’re staying together.”“If we get married, you don’t have to […]