I didn’t plop the baby in her swing in front of Baby Einstein all day, either. I practiced my own form of attachment parenting, and became adept at typing one-handed while I nursed a baby. I remember one night cradling the baby, about 6 months old, in my lap while I typed furiously to make a morning magazine deadline. Today if I did that same balancing act, my daughter would want to type, as well. I realized that the best thing for me, my career, and my daughter was to get some help.

For the first time since 2006 when I left Paintball Sports Magazine as the Editor-in-Chief, I am keeping “regular writing hours.” I write when the babysitter is here, from 10 AM until two or three, and then at night after my daughter’s asleep.

As a freelancer, I’ve always believed in schedules, but mine were very loose, falling prey to the weather, (“It’s a nice day for a bike ride!”), my husband’s ideas (“Let’s go for a bike ride!”) and whims: (“I think I’ll go work off that vanilla milkshake with a walk around the mall!”) In my pre-parenthood life, when I wasn’t writing I was eating, shopping or cycling. Days off meant a lot of late nights, but I was able to write whenever I wanted to, and, more importantly, not write when I didn’t want to.

Can I Write On Demand?

After surviving my first week “on the clock,” I can say that yes, I can keep to a writing schedule and WRITE during that time. Better yet, I’m poised to offer tips for those of you who want to create a more structured writing schedule rather than waiting for the muse. Or, as Stephen King puts it, “It’s a lot easier for the Muse to strike you if she knows where to look.”

1. Work with your natural writing rhythms. The owner of this blog, Rebecca Laffar-Smith, recognizes that she writes best from 10 AM till noon and from 8 PM to 10 PM. So she schedules this as her “writing time.” For me, I write best from about 3 in the afternoon, onward. Unfortunately, my writing times coincide with things like dinner and bedtime for my daughter. But, years of editing magazines where I did a lot of writing have helped me “train” myself to write during office hours, so I can manage a 10 AM to 3 PM writing schedule. I still expect I’ll get more done at night, during my 10 PM to 2 AM writing spurts.
2. Avoid distractions. Schedule set times to check your email and do social networking, and then turn off the internet and the phone if you have to. Michele L. Tune wrote an excellent article on avoiding internet distractions.
3. Find a motivational writing partner for accountability. Sometimes it helps to have company. One writing colleague of mine plays a “game” called “1, 2, 3.” She connects with another writer through a chat program, and they set a time to write for a half hour straight. At the end of that half-hour, they report on their progress and decide if they want to continue for another 30 minutes.
4. Have your ideas in place. It’s easier for me to write “on demand” when I know exactly what I’m writing about. Setting an editorial calendar for each day you write helps you get started. No more staring at a blank page thinking of ideas, because you’ve already brainstormed the topics in advance. You can also use writing prompts for this purpose.
5. Have a ritual that sends your brain the signal it’s time to write. A writing ritual shouldn’t be a long, drawn-out process. I like to brew a cup of tea or coffee, check my e-mail quickly, and then settle in to write.
6. Establish a writing place. One benefit of having a babysitter is I get to work in my home office again. I’ve used Feng Shui color schemes to encourage creativity, and adorned the walls with inspirational posters. Like writing rituals and set times, having your own little corner to write in, separate from the rest of the family, minimizes distractions and can inspire you.
7. Treat it as a job — which it is. Money has always been my primary motivation to write. When you put yourself into the mindset that your writing is your work and set expectations for yourself, you can obliterate writer’s block.

I always liked this quote from W. Somerset Maugham: “I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

Now, I find myself living it.

How do you “summon the muse” when you have to write “on demand?”

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For one thing, writers need inspiration in order to work.  A lot of it comes from inside your own head, but you don’t want to turn into an episode of House.  True, he discovers a unique disease in every new patient, but the tired formula of rejections and revelations is so predictable!  Even Sue Sylvester from Glee is out-snarking Gregory House.  Why?  Because we get it in every episode!  The point is, you need to mix it up if you want to avoid repetition and boredom.  Just as you sample multiple forms of media, you need to experience distinctive environments if you want to keep your writing fun and fresh.

Plus, people need companionship.  We are inherently social creatures and if you don’t nurture that aspect of your biology, you are going to be an unhappy camper.  By cutting yourself off from others, you are likely to develop feelings of depression at the very least.  Even worse, you may find yourself unable to write.  So why bite the hand that feeds you?  Just because writers have historically been an antisocial lot doesn’t mean you have to go down the “tortured artist” path.  Take advantage of the fact that you are one of the few lucky people in the workforce with the ability to set your own schedule.  Meet friends for lunch, take a class, or pencil in a jog.  All of these out-of-office activities will reboot your brain and leave you feeling reinvigorated for your next writing assignment.

And don’t forget about relationships.  It takes two to tango and if you’re padlocked to your computer all the time, you risk alienating the ones who love you.  So for your own mental health, to preserve your relationships, and to excel in your chosen profession, make an effort to get out of the house once in awhile.  It will ensure that your life and your work continue on a path of growth instead of running into almost certain stagnation.

Where do you go and what do you do when you need to get out of the house to refresh your writer’s mind?

Thomas Warren is a content writer for Go College, one of the oldest and most trusted resources to guide students on how to finance and succeed in college.

Photo credit: 03-28-09 © Jenna Wagner
Photo credit: 03-13-09 © webphotographeer

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Activating the Creativity Area of Your Home or Office

It all begins with the bagua. Once you understand this simple Feng Shui tool, you can activate the energy (the chi) in the creativity segment of your home or office. When you lay out the Bagua in your home or apartment, you’ll see nine different sectors in your home, corresponding to various areas of your life. If you are looking into the room from the door, the children and creativity area is the section against the right wall, up to the center of the space. To enhance your creativity, you want to focus on the energy in this space.

You can also lay the bagua over your office floor plan or your desk, enhancing your creativity by focusing on that area of the bagua in any space.

Assess the Chi

When you enter the creativity area of the room where you write, how do you feel? Look around: What colors are dominant? What objects do you see? If you feel you have uplifting chi in that space, chances are your creativity isn’t suffering at all.

But if the area makes you feel down, depressed or simply “stuck,” this could explain why you are not having as much success as you should in your writing career. Your creativity may be suffering.

Enhance the Creativity Segment of the Room

The children and creativity segment of the ba gua corresponds with the element metal and the color white. Placing anything metal in that area, including creative sculptures made of metal or colorful artwork in metal frames, will enhance the chi in that corner.

Here are some other objects you can use the children/creativity area of the room to encourage the flow of uplifting chi:

• Metal windchimes or a bell. These objects not only represent the element of metal, but they increase “sound chi” with bright, lively chimes. Wind chimes also add movement to an area, helping the chi flow.
• Metal Toys. What can be more playful and creative than toys? Add fun metal toys — such as race cars or a fun metal toy that swings with kinetic energy — to your creativity area to add a sense of playfulness to your workday.
• White flowers. You can enhance a space with “living chi,” by adding objects such as plants or flowers. White plants, which correspond to the color of the element metal, work best in the creativity area of your home or office. Be sure to replace flowers as soon as they become wilted. Fresh flowers bring living chi to a space, but dead flowers should be removed immediately.

The Command Position

Whether you have a home office or work at your kitchen table, the place where you write should have you sitting in the command position of that room. http://www.kenlauher.com/feng-shui-tips/bid/8990/Feng-Shui-Your-Office-to-Advance-Your-Career-and-Make-More-Money The command position places you so you can see the door, but are not directly in line with it.

If you must sit with your back to the door, placing a mirror in front of you will help you avoid the feeling of “being stabbed in the back” by clients and people you work with.

Dress for Creativity

Along with organizing and decorating our workspace with objects designed to enhance our creativity and enhance the flow of chi, we can also dress in colors that raise our creative chi. White, as the color that corresponds with metal, is a good color for writers, as is bright blue and green. Green represents new hope and new ideas. You can also incorporate rainbow colors into your wardrobe to enhance your creativity.

Ken Lauher advises individuals, businesses and organizations on how to implement practical Feng Shui solutions to help achieve their goals and live a more fulfilling life.

His inspiring and transformational work with well-known actors, actresses, TV hosts, singers, songwriters, CEOs, businesses, and corporations has made him a sought-after speaker on feng shui and life enhancement. Ken recently appeared on NBC’s Weekend Today show and TLC’s Moving Up!

Based in New York City, Ken works with local, national and international clients. To learn more about Ken, to download your free Feng Shui Guide, or to schedule a Feng Shui consultation, please visit www.kenlauher.com.

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Exercise is important for multiple reasons.  Exerting energy in bursts offers inspiration, boosts your metabolism, provides an outlet to physically exert frustrations, and helps keep your body healthy to handle the stressors of the day.  Spending the weekend away from the computer with your family offers plenty of activities that serve a dual purpose: exercise and bonding. 

Tips and Suggestions:

• A picnic lunch at the park.
  • When planning your picnic out, remember to include plenty of items for outdoor fun.  Outdoor balls, wiffle balls and bats, plastic golfing games, frisbees, horseshoes and a volleyball serve in a pinch depending on your location.  If you find a part that serves different outdoor sports, invite friends and extended family to come along for added conversation and fun.
• Walking along the waterways.
  • There’s a great program sponsored by Geocaching.com called, “Cache in, trash out.”  You can apply the same principle to any outdoors walk you take.  Carry with you a couple of small trash bags and pick up any debris along the way that could harm the space you have to meander.  Not only are you doing your body good when walking, you’ve made a positive impact on the environment.  Who couldn’t feel good about that?
• Biking and Hiking in the hills and mountains.
  • Planning a trip to the mountains takes a bit more planning.  You must remember all your basic necessities including water, survival tools (knife, flints, flares) as well as pack high energy foods capable of sustaining you in the event you are trapped for the night.  Investing in insulating blankets to carry is a wise idea, too.  Seldom do people find themselves stuck on the mountain with no way down, but if it happened to you, it would provide an amazing story to pitch to an editor once you return to civilization.
• Visiting a zoo or other local museum.
  • When the weather is less than favorable for an outdoor adventure, spending time inside might just serve you well.  As long as you are away from your work space and doing something outside your normal routine.  Walking through a zoo or large museum will exercise your body and mind.  Animals and displays from the past will recharge your inspirational pool. 

For many writers, finding balance between home and family can be difficult.  No matter how you are pulled to put in an extra couple of hours, make sure you are choosing your hours wisely.  If you can spent time out recharging yourself and build memories with your family, it’s more than worth staying up an hour later or rising an hour early to finish out that assignment.  Afterall, why work hard to achieve success when you aren’t reaping the benefits of what you sow?

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When you write for a living, every word is carefully chosen, and articles, novels or stories flow in a logical line. Sometimes that line becomes a rut but you can easily jog your creativity off the beaten path with some sly wordplay.

In the continuing spirit of (Inter) National Poetry Month, here’s a few ways to spot random poetry, and a couple of uses for those found bits of word art.

1. Portable signs

These signs are found everywhere outside businesses and strip malls. Sometimes the poem writes itself, like in this recent example I found locally:

Morals and mores enjoyed by leather fans at Christmas would be an acquired taste, come to think of it. Especially in Hollywood. It’s a short little freeform that makes you think, which is the point. In the cold, real world, each word was advertising a business: the leather shop, the Christmas Store, the Hollywood memorabilia place, and the gourmet food boutique. But a harried mall owner trying to squeeze everyone in probably had no idea he was creating a lovely little line of poetic whimsy.

2. Television listings

I have satellite TV, complete with an online guide to tell me what’s coming up next on each channel. If you read some of these listings together, it’s great, dramatic stuff:

I’ve added an occasional word in parentheses to connect some titles, but the meat of the tiny, lyrical meal is right there, randomly stacked on top of one another.

3. Spam

“My lips kiss you
like giraffes in the city
please her
with larger members
of the church
the word is to be free”

Whether written by a spammer with a shaky grasp of English or a frustrated poet/bot, there are some classic treats to be mined from an otherwise annoying nuisance. Enjoy the poetic lunacy but don’t ever, ever click on the links. Just look at it like you would an interesting cloud: take a mental picture, appreciate the accidental beauty, and watch it float away into the spam folder to be deleted.

Discover your own Random Poetry

Now that you see the random poetry of mangled communication everywhere, what do you do with it? Keep some stellar examples as writing prompts for a day when you’re chained down by writer’s block, or collect several and piece them together into one flowing epic. Random poetry allows you to be silly with words, so play with them like Lego blocks and build towers of weird inspiration. It will loosen your Muse, make you laugh and maybe even cause you to write a few nonsense poems of your own.

What random snippets of language have you discovered had a poetic ring to it? Share some of your own random poetry in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Animal Cleanliness by freedryk
Photo Credit: Towing Haiku by iamdonte

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Less is more. It really is.

I have the tendency to pour all of my mind, heart, and soul in to anything I do. Whether it’s a freelance project, a blog post, making a smoothie, or even a grocery list – I obsess over every detail.

Every day, I spend a huge chunk of hours on the computer. Even if I’m not connected to the Internet (I’ll be honest, most of the time, I am) I have several files open and am jumping back-and-forth between them, working on this article or that blog post.

I write and rewrite, proofread, and move paragraphs around until I have it just the way I want it.

This can be a good thing. Most of the time, it is. But it can also be a bad thing.

I’m working on a new approach to my freelance lifestyle: less is more.

I’ve noticed that when I unplug and shake loose all the words that are floating around in my head, I’m actually MORE inspired and write even better.

Who says you have to spend 15 hours glued to the computer daily to have a freelance writing business? I’ve become so engulfed in writing, blogging, answering comments, responding to emails, querying, marketing, promoting, chatting – when really I need to take a step back.

Like everything else in life, too much of anything isn’t really good for us. Food is good, but in moderation. Exercise is good, but overdoing it does harm. Reading is awesome, but not if we never do anything else in life.

So, here I am. Realizing that if I spend less time on the computer, I’ll be more inspired, healthier, happier, and more at peace with my life overall.

Social media can wait. Emails will sit patiently in my inbox. Blog posts can be scheduled and comments will await my return.

Am I leaving the freelance world. No, absolutely not! Will I still be writing? Yes! Blogging? Yes! Fluttering through social media sites like the butterfly I am? Yes!

But I’ll also be:

• Stopping to smell the roses
• Getting fresh air
• Going for walks
• Dedicating time to enhancing my yoga practice
• Spending precious time with family and friends
• Just being still in the moment
• Clearing my mind
• Recharging
• Having some fun
• Reading
• Experimenting with recipes
• Playing with the farm critters
• And more…

This is my prediction: You’ll begin to see my writing become more prolific. My social media posts will be even more inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging than ever before – because I will be. My writing won’t suffer – it will soar higher than ever before. My freelance writing business will flourish more than I ever dreamed. This is just the beginning.

Why will all these things happen? Because I’ll be nurturing the most significant writing relationship I have – the one with myself.

I’m choosing quality over quantity. Spending almost every waking hour of the day – every single day – working on reaching all of our writing goals and dreams may not be what it takes to achieve the success we desire.

The past few days, I’ve made a point to turn the computer off, go outside, spend time with the animals, take long walks, and just enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, and flowers. It’s so nice to just be. To soak up nature’s beauty and enjoy life in that moment, that still, quiet moment.

And when I come back inside and crank the old laptop back up, words purge from my soul like a raging river. There’s no . There’s no wondering what I’m going to write next. There’s no lack of inspiration.

How do you feel about the “less is more” approach? How many hours do you spend a day writing, or surfing the cyber waves? Is life passing you by? Do you keep pushing yourself until you’re burnt out, or do you stop to smell the roses?

Photo Credit: 10-03-09 © Sculpies

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Take time to stop and smell the roses….

How many times have you heard this in your lifetime from family, friends – or even your doctor?

Life is so busy, so hectic. If the phone isn’t ringing, someone’s at the door. Meals need to be prepared; laundry and dishes demand attention. Appointments beckon. Shopping won’t do itself – so many chores, so much to do, so little time.

Don’t let this depress you. Life will always be busy. That’s just a given. There will always be something else you could be doing while you’re tending the task at hand.

When the sun sets each evening and our to-do list is already growing for the next day, it is easy to feel pulled in a gazillion directions. As we live our busy lives, darting to and fro and fulfilling obligations, assignments, and scratching items off our lists, our muse can become lost.

How can we hear the inspiration through all the chaos? Oh, we can strain our ears until we hear the faintest musings. But is that good enough – really?

Hearing through the stresses of day-to-day life can be nearly impossible. Even if we manage to struggle enough to squeeze out decent work, do the words flow like they once did? Do sentences, paragraphs, stories weave seamlessly?

5 Reasons to Stop and Smell the Roses

1. Clear mind. If you never allow your mind to be quiet, you’ll get burnt out – and fast. Even if you manage to push yourself for a long time, why would you? There’s nothing better than tamed thoughts, still moments.
2. Health. It isn’t healthy to go, go, go all the time without a moment to catch your breath. Your body can only go so far, do so much. And without a strong, healthy body, how do you expect to maintain – or start a freelance career?
3. Inspiration. With a clear mind and healthy body, your muse will have an open pathway through your vessel, she can dance in the idea waterfall. This means words and ideas will literally come and flow like a river through your entire being, and purge themselves onto your paper or keyboard.
4. Peace. If your body and mind are clear and you’re writing freely, you’ll feel more at peace. You’ll have that balance you crave and desire so deeply.
5. Encouragement. As everything falls into place; centered, strong, and balanced; you’ll begin to feel more and more encouraged in your writing goals. And the more encouraged you are, the more inspired you’ll be.

By following these tips and caring for yourself – mind, body, and soul – your writing (and you!) will flourish.

So, see, stopping to smell the roses is not only something you can do for yourself – it’s something you can do for your muse.

And I assure you, their perfume has never been sweeter…

How often do you stop and smell the roses?
How do you make time to recharge your spirit?

Photo Credit: 02-15-2008 © splityarn

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I love colorful pictures, paintings, and crafts that were created by inspired minds of today and yesterday. I am not overly picky about what can inspire me, as long as it is aesthetically pleasing and accesses the visual thinking area of my mind. I can weave a story around captivating elements within a picture.

Artistic Imagery for the Writer

Here’s a fun little exercise that I like to use when my creative well is running dry. You don’t even have to take a trip to a museum to find breathtaking works of art, although you certainly could!

1. Type in a random word into your favorite search engine or photo site, coupled with the word “art”. I love flowers, so I might try “flower art”, whereas if you are focusing on writing an interview, you might look for “female art”.
2. Click on the image results of your search query. The internet is full of images in every style, medium, and expression. Choose three of the images that jump out at you immediately. Don’t worry too much if they don’t appear to be your favorites, or if they don’t match the mood of your writing project. As long as they elicit an emotional response from you, they are likely to be useful!
3. Take the three images and try to create a mini-story in your mind. For example, you might have one picture of a young woman, another of a castle, and another of a field of flowers. The basic story behind these three images is: “There is a woman in a castle surrounded by flowers.”
4. Now, ask yourself all sorts of questions. “Why is the woman there? Does she live there? Has the castle been abandoned, with the flowers growing everywhere? Is she alone? Where will she go? What will she find in the castle? Does she like the flowers?” These kinds of questions will get your creative juices flowing, and you may find a plot line for a short story or novel hidden within these pictures!
5. Tie these images back into your non-fiction writing project. The young woman can stand for yourself, or the subject you’re writing about. You may need to write from a new point of view, or find the human angle to your otherwise dull topic. The castle may stand for a real life physical location. Where is your topic making the most impact? Where is the headquarters located? For more abstract art, such as flowers, you may be able to compare your subject to the flowers, and list all the reasons why it is so.

Inspiration Out in the Open

Art is everywhere! And not just limited to images, photos, or paintings. Sculpture and crafts are 3D visions of the mind’s eye brought to life. Nature is living, breathing art! Others find beauty and creativity in architecture, fashion, film, and interior decorating.

Keep your eyes and mind open, and you will begin to see the beauty and the stories all around you.

What inspires you the most? How do you bring those images out of real life and down into words? Are more literal descriptive passages your style, or do you use art as a jumping point into deeper discussion and meaning?

Photo Credit: Dalbera

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What’s Your Core Strength?

“While at the flower store, ordering a nice bunch of orchids to honor the longest-term relationship I’ve ever had–with myself, I noticed that many people were more focused on what to get or do for their significant others, or what they were getting done for them, than how to celebrate their own selves.

“In fact, out of the 20 or so other people who were there, not one of them were wrapping up blooms from them, to them. When they found out I was, it was like a kitten had popped out of my jacket pocket. “Ohmigosh–That’s SO cute!,” they said, eyes wide with the sheer quaintness of it all.

“It struck me then, how weighted we can get towards our external offerings and relationships. It’s rare to see someone taking themselves out for dinner, and choosing the nice restaurant over the quick fix, or taking the time to appreciate themselves with a love letter, a kind remark or even the simple beauty of flowers. “ ~ Sadie Nardini

Loving Relationship

When I started reading Sadie’s recent article, “What’s Your Core Strength?” (Yoga Journal) I couldn’t stop. Her words are so fresh and inspiring – and true.

I mean, as freelancers, how often do we truly appreciate ourselves? Our talent? Our bodies? Our health? Our time?

How often do we skip meals, lose sleep, push ourselves through sickness, exhaustion, blood-shot eyes, headaches? More often than not, right?

Why is it that we throw all of our love, passion, time, strength, mind, body and soul into our words, stories, books, characters, work, and give ourselves so little? Why do we strive to please our editors and clients – yet don’t give a thought to the simplest pleasure that we might enjoy?

Freelance Relationships

We spend so much time working on creating, building, and nurturing the relationships with our editors, clients, fellow freelancers, and potential clients. Why is it then, that we find it so hard to have a relationship with ourselves? To be kind to ourselves? Take care of ourselves? Do something just for us?

Relationship Deprivation

Oh, yes, money is an issue. We give and give and give until we’re all written out and our bodies and minds are worn out. Our bank account may be growing and expanding but our once youthful, cheerful, well-fed souls may be withering away to nothingness!

Is it hard to imagine treating yourself to a bouquet of roses – just because? Does it seem impossible to spend your hard-earned cash on a massage, a new outfit, your favorite restaurant, or even just a stroll through the park or a leisurely day (or even hour!) spent watching a little TV, reading a book you’ve been meaning to read, or taking that yoga class you’ve been fantasizing about?

Rich Relationship

Life is so much richer when it involves vibrant relationships. But you don’t have to be in a relationship with someone else to know that you’re special. You don’t have to receive a dozen roses from someone else to smile. And you don’t have to be a freelancer to give yourself a little TLC.

If we can be as creative as we normally are without treating ourselves, imagine what a superhero we would be if we did!

You’ll have to excuse me, I have a date – with yoga and myself. After that, I’ll be refreshed and ready to greet my freelance life with a smile!

Do you having a love-filled, caring, sweet, thoughtful, compassionate relationship – with yourself? Do you think it’s silly? Do you think it sounds inviting? Do you love yourself enough to treat yourself better – or at least as well – as you treat your clients and editors, and expect others to? Have you ever written yourself a letter? Bought yourself flowers? Dined at a restaurant alone (on purpose)? If you could have any relationship with yourself, what would it be: spontaneous, encouraging, luxurious, simple? Can you be as faithful to yourself as you are to everyone else?

Photo credit: Michael Melrose

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Writing is like weaving
– from the beginning
to the end!

Our words glide across the page and then we hit enter and move down. We scroll back up and take note of what we’ve written; we scroll back down and finish our thoughts. We move all across the page: up, down, back and forth – all the while we are weaving a story. The pieces, colors, and vibrant picture are moving vividly through our mind, body, and soul.

As we gaze intensely at the computer screen – or our notebook – we are filling the blank page with words, ideas, wisdom, information; we are filling the blank page with our heart and soul.

Some of you weave with dark yarns (aka words), smearing mystical creatures, blood-spilled mysteries, and murderous intent on to the blank page. Others splash colorful hues of passion-filled romance, wild and dangerous affairs, and tug at the hearts of those craving love (or lust!) – leaving them satisfied, yet yearning for more. And there are those of us who choose to share inspiration, motivation, encouragement, and non-fiction information that will leave the reader a little wiser – and more optimistic- than they came.

We writers purge not only our creative minds with our readers, but our hearts as well. We ultimately give the world a piece of ourselves in every page, every word, every article, story, or book. With every word we type (or write), we are weaving…

Weaving When Words Won’t Wake

1. Begin at the end and weave your way back. If the first words won’t come to you for the beginning of your story, think about how you want the piece to end.
2. Start with the title. Take a few minutes to find a working title. Think about what you want to say in your piece and create a title from those ideas.
3. Jump in to the middle. Who says you have to start at the beginning – or even the end? Throw yourself in to the middle of the story and weave your way up and back down (or vice-versa)!
4. Go easy on yourself and weave an outline. Sometimes you need an outline. I find them especially helpful on most of my work.
5. Take a break and create a Wordle. They’re fun, and they’re sure to help you get your weave on!

There aren’t any rules set in stone of how you should weave your stories. Words usually come naturally if you nurture your creativity and treat your body well. Yes, there are dry spells in every writer’s life at some point, but if you follow the tips above, it will help you find inspiration once again.

Your work will be much richer, much more beautiful, if you allow yourself to be vulnerable enough that your heart and soul bleeds in to each and every word you weave.

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

How do you weave your words? Similar to me, or different? Do you apply any of these techniques to your own writing? Do you have any weaving tips to share with us? We’d love to hear from you; please join in – or start – the conversation!

Reference: Wordle.net

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