A good way to get started on a new piece is to put down your initial ideas in the form of a letter. Address the letter to someone in your life who absolutely does not understand your work (your parents, workmates, landlord). As you refine the letter, you may get a clearer picture of what [...]
Archive for the ‘Los Angeles’ Category
Writing Tip by Brendan Constantine!
Posted in Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on January 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Writing Prompt by Eloise Klein Healy
Posted in Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing prompts on January 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Red List Very quickly and without thinking, write a list of ten red things you have owned or come in contact with in some way in your lifetime. When you read down the list, one or two items will “vibrate” a bit more than the others. Choose one and start a free write about [...]
Writing Tip by Noel Alumit
Posted in Blogger, Fiction, Los Angeles, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on December 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I think it’s useful to mix up my routine. Don’t always write in the morning, try at night or the afternoon. Don’t always write at your desk, switch to the kitchen table, the bedroom. Even better, try a park. My mind is constantly shifting depending on time and place. Doing this allows me to find [...]
Writing Tip by Suzanne Lummis
Posted in Los Angeles, MFA Faculty, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on December 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here, the object is to enrich the language of your poetry and perhaps also trick yourself into writing a poem you wouldn’t have otherwise. Sometimes it’s a poem your subconscious has been holding in its storage unit – you just needed the right key. Open a dictionary at random, here and there, chose sensory, evocative [...]
Writing Prompt by Lynne Thompson
Posted in Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing prompts on December 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
One favorite prompt of mine frequently arrives unbidden when I am in a new or unfamiliar location. The sights and smells of some place that is not “home” never fails to compel me to pick up a pen to write the words that will allow me to savor the extraordinary experience over and over again. [...]
Writing Tip by Gerald Locklin
Posted in creative non fiction, Fiction, Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on November 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Photo by Vanessa Locklin The most important advice I have for writers is that a poem can be on any subject in any type of language (but the best for its purposes of that type). In other words, there are no subjects that are “unpoetic” or unfit for poetry and there are no levels of [...]
Writing Tip by Richard Beban
Posted in creative non fiction, Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on November 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Read it aloud. Comments: No matter what the piece of writing, read it aloud before you consider a draft finished. We were an aural/oral culture long before we were a written culture, and the ear is still the best way to fine-tune a piece of writing, and to hear its intrinsic music. And if it [...]
Writing Tip from Pam Ward
Posted in Fiction, Los Angeles, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on November 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Write five minutes a day! That’s how I finished my first novel, WANT SOME GET SOME. I just chipped at that evil heiffer every single day. Don’t think page count, think effort & heart. The kiss of death to most unfinished work is neglect. It’s easy to ignore the work and never return. Fear sets [...]
Writing Tip by Cheryl Klein
Posted in Blogger, Los Angeles, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on October 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Recipe for a Short Story I’ve always found it strange that some writers and writing workshops perceive themselves to be too “advanced” for writing exercises. Specific constraints sharpen your skills and get you out of your comfort zone. If I just sat down with the vague idea that I was going to write a story, the [...]
Writing Prompt from Ron Koertge
Posted in Fiction, Los Angeles, MFA Faculty, Poetry, writers, Writing prompts on October 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I play cards with a few friends and when it’s Laurie’s turn to deal she always says, “Everybody loves blackjack.” Well, everybody loves haiku, too. Any kid can count out seventeen syllables (5-7-5) and I quickly take away the demands of traditional haiku (the frog, the pond, the inevitable moon) and ask them to write [...]
