Let’s talk about Shrek: The Musical again. By far my favorite song in the show is “Who I’d Be” which takes place (quite a few story beats before “When Words Fail,” which I wrote about recently) right after Shrek and Fiona meet for the first time and escape the tower. Shrek sings about who he…
Let’s get meta. Ever since I first really became aware of the concept of being a writer, it’s something I’ve been drawn to. But as I’ve gotten older, I have found that I censor myself more and more before I even get any words on the page or screen. That’s too cliche. That’s too sappy.…
One of the lovely pieces of media I have been introduced to in the last year is Shrek The Musical. (I know, I know, I’m more than a decade late to the party, but what’s your point?) In the play, there is a moment where Shrek sings about how inadequate he feels in his ability…
One of my favorite creative writing exercises – not even just an exercise, but a process that can lead to a finished piece – is to chose five sentences at random from five books that I pick from my bookshelves. I then take those five sentences and make a poem from them. Some of the…
I’ve gone through quite a journey with my writing/creativity in the last few weeks. I wanted to write a lovely, eloquent post about it, but I suppose I’m still a little close to it. So instead, here, in bullet list format, are some of the things I’ve learned recently about art and creativity. Creativity can…
Yes, I’m that kind of nerd. I love Lord of the Rings. I’m not obsessed with it in the same way as Harry Potter, but Peter Jackson’s adaptations are my favorite movies of all time, and I can honestly say that yes, I even enjoyed the books. I love looking at exceptional books or movies and…
Back in January, I shared some writing goals that I hoped would help me get “unstuck” in February. I suspected that my “writer’s block” (which I don’t really believe in) was due mostly to the fact that I did not quite know what to do next, and I thought that making a plan would help me…
Last week, I wrote about feeling overwhelmed with my project, and how uncertain I was where to even begin. So I finally made a plan and set some goals. I decided in February (and the last week of January), I would focus on research. So far, it’s been going well. I’ve got quite a…
I have a new writing post for you today. If you’ll recall from my NaNoWriMo posts last November, I am currently working on a novel about Phillis Wheatley. And when I say “currently working on,” I mean “trying-but-it’s-hard-and-I-don’t-even-know-what-to-do-next” kind of working. This is what has been happening inside my head for almost two months now: Me:…
Surprise! You know when I said I wasn’t going to post this Wednesday? Well, I changed my mind. I finished NaNoWriMo (reached my 50,000 words, and actually finished my story) much earlier than I thought, and my fingers were itching to blog, so here we go. This NaNoWriMo (my fifth) was both more difficult and…
Well, NaNoWriMo is almost over. As I’ve mentioned previously in my other NaNoWriMo posts, I have done this project several times before and was able to successfully complete it each time – even when I was a full-time student with a part-time job. This year, it’s been a whole different ballgame, for a lot of reasons.…
What I’ve learned doing NaNoWriMo this time around: It’s amazing to have a story you’re really in love with. Don’t get 11,000 words behind. Don’t get 11,000 words behind. It’s not fun to 11,000 words behind. Don’t get 11,000 words behind. Conclusion? Don’t get 11,000 words behind.
I’m a bit preoccupied with writing my novel about Phillis Wheatley at the moment (and trying to catch up on my word count, as I am still really far behind) and couldn’t think of much else to write about this week, so I thought I would share a couple of excerpts from this work in progress.…
Well. It’s been a rough week on a number of levels. As it stands right now, I am 8000 words behind where I “should be” to be on target for NaNoWriMo. That’s going to take a definite, concerted effort to tackle over the course of the next two weeks. Why? Due to certain recent events, I…
In the other years that I have done NaNoWriMo, week one has typically been my strongest week. I have found that getting ahead of the word count in the first few days gives me a strong start to the month and carries me through weeks that are more difficult (like week two and three). This…