How many mind-blowing, thought-provoking and beautiful books or films can you think of that were created while trying to please others? Doesn’t the most impactful, memorable writing boldly challenge the status quo, play with aesthetics, and startle us instead? Here are some reasons why writers should steer clear of pleasing others: 1) When a writer … Continue reading
The battle against depression (short or long term) has many fronts, including, in my opinion, the battle for a humanity and environment-first world where we are less alienated at work and among each other. But what makes writing such a powerful tool for both personal and political problems (which are invariably linked) is that we … Continue reading
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potty series, was asked by her publisher Barry Kunningham to use just her initials (she made up the K), as he thought boys might be wary of a book written by a woman. Many people assume that Harper Lee is a man, Charlotte Bronte originally published as Currer Bell … Continue reading
Creativity is, in essence, new ideas, new ways of seeing things, new combinations of old things. Sometimes when we’re writing – articles, novels, stories, songs etc – it can be hard to chill and get into a creative frame of mind. The following super-quick exercises can be helpful in opening you up to new ideas … Continue reading
Today is a tough day. I’m dealing with stuff and there’s a tight knot in my chest and work is taking twice as long because my concentration is off, to put it mildly. There is worry crying out from behind my head, knocking on my door, demanding attention – but it’ll only make things … Continue reading
In the story and creative world, there’s two fairly obvious things wrong with stereotypes: They tend to reinforce prejudice and discrimination, and reduce the particular group of humans down to just a few elements (but people are complex and aren’t just their appearance or intelligence or food choices). They are boring to read and don’t … Continue reading
I like how her poems etch out a determined resistance using nature-based and human metaphors that link the personal with the political. Dreamwood In the old, scratched, cheap wood of the typing stand there is a landscape, veined, which only a child can see or the child’s older self, a poet, a woman dreaming when … Continue reading
In these times where we are bombarded with bullshit, where news is advertising and advertising is entertainment and our minds have been made into sloth juice by meme-life and quick-fix social media, we have a duty to be unfashionable writers. In these times where what we read – the food our brain is fed – … Continue reading
Many people would put creative writers (novelists, poets, investigative journalists, satire writers etc) in the hobby basket, alongside people who like camping, stamp collectors, and amateur basketball players. And for many creative writers, that might well be the case. But for others, writing is not a side gig, a Sunday morning past time, or a … Continue reading
Ask a friend, or someone you know who feels comfortable with you- ideally a person feeling pain or suffering in some way – if you can word-draw them. The idea is that they sit in front of you, quietly, and you can observe them. Instead of drawing, you’ll write down words. Maybe you’ll notice the … Continue reading
OneLook: This is a beautiful, multi-functional thesaurus, and reverse dictionary. Look up the description of that word you can’t think of, and the site makes at least 100 suggestions. You can also look up single words, and the site suggests synonyms that can be sorted by the letter they start with, rhymes with…, primary vowel, … Continue reading
The purpose of this exercise is to have some fun, play with those creative juices, and get them flowing for ideas to come. We’re going to use someone else’s poem though, so the product coming out of this obviously can’t be used elsewhere: but in the process of doing this exercise or afterwards, who knows … Continue reading
