Practice Makes Perfect

If you want to improve, write as much as you can, even if it starts out horribly.

If you've been reading the countless articles, letters, and stories written by writers about writing, you know the ever present suggestion that practice makes perfect applies to writing just as much as any other craft. To learn to write you have to, well, write. The more words you put down the closer you will get to being a word artist. The more sentences you create, the better you will be at manipulating their structure. The more stories you craft, the more interesting and dynamic your characters and plots will become.

Right now perhaps you are waiting for an idea, or for inspiration. Maybe you're making up excuses about not having time. Maybe you think you need to take a class first. While a class, more time, and ispiration can certainly help you write. They won't turn you into a writer. Only you can do that, and only by consistantly practicing in one way or another.

You can practice by freewriting, practice by finding prompts, or even practice by copying the style of others. And though all of these things may not be publishable, and actualy likely won't be because they will be sloppy or to similar to another story, you will be learning something. You may also find that ever elusive inspiration.

I will be posting exercises in another section of this blog that will help you start practicing, so stay tuned!

Quick Travel Challenge 1 - Make a List

To Go Anywhere, You Need Somewhere to Go

Here's a simple task you can do in a week that will eventually help you to travel more. Travel to places big and small for long or short trips. Travel on your own, with family and friends, or with strangers. The first step to achieving big dreams is letting yourself dream in the first place. So this week, make a dream travel list. List every single place you want to go, and don't just put generic items like Asia, though this could be included to. Instead include every monument you want to see, event you want to attend, and city you want to explore. If you really have the travel bug, I imagine this list will be long.

After you've made the list, prioritize it. Star the items that would be most desirable. Mark the ones that would be easy to get to because they are close or inexpensive. You can rewrite the list now if you want to reflect these changes. For extra credit turn the list into a dream board, adding pictures and using nice font for even more inspiration.

The nice thing is, that this technique is a great way to define any type of goal, and making lists or dream boards makes people more likely to achieve whatever it is that they desire. So go ahead and allow yourself to dream. It might seem like this task would be too small and easy to actually help you get anywhere, but small things will add up.

Share your lists, or pictures of your travel board by sending them to wewrite2go@gmail.com. Top entries will be featured on the blog each week.

Find the Cheapest Flights with One Check

By being Flexible on your dates of travel, you will find the best airfares

Most websites will allow you to check multiple dates at once when you search for airfare. An example of this is Kayak.com, which will give you a whole chart comparing prices for +/- 3 days of your chosen departure and return dates. The highest and lowest prices are highlighted, and the flight options are displayed below. It's easy and simple,then, to find the best possible price, if you're willing to leave or return on a slightly different schedule.

Fearlessness Gives you the Choice to Succeed

If you want success, you have to stop being afraid and try, because then you will at least have options despite the inevitable challenges.

Perhaps you want to write a novel, perhaps you want to go to Asia, perhaps you want to get published someday, perhaps you want to be a famous travel writer...

Will these goals be hard to attain? Yes. Is it possible you'll never get them? Absolutely. Will you achieve the goal if you don't even try? No way. A lot of people settle for things that are less than what they want in life. Perhaps circumstances just get in the way: you don't have the money, your mother gets sick, you need to work. Circumstances can be valid, they are obstacles to getting our loftiest dreams, and they are hard to overcome. Yet, in most cases where there is a will, there is a way. And in most cases, big dreams are completely achievable despite obstacles.

For the most part, circumstances are just circumstances. They are just excuses. When circumstances get in the way it is because you are making an obstacle into a priority instead of putting your dreams at the top of your list. The thing that is really holding you back is yourself. It's the little voice in the back of your head saying; but what if I fail? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I wind up disappointed? Disappointment is certainly one of the worst feelings, but then again, so is regret. Sometimes you just have to weigh your options. What will you regret more failing or never trying?

If you plan a trip to Greece, for instance, but then your car breaks down and you have to spend all of your money to repair it, you can either decide to start over with saving money again, or you can say, "screw the car, I'll take the bus when I get back". Because you've made the attempt, you have options and you can prioritize. If you never save up, if you never plan to go to Greece in the first place, well then, there are never any options except to never go at all. I leave you with some quotes to inspire you to the path of fearlessness:

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

--Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again; you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

--Confucius

~C.J.

Prepare for Novel Writing Month Week 1

First steps in a plan that will help you prepare to write a great novel in just one month.

This week's quick challenge is about ideas. This should be easy to complete in a week.

Sit and fill at least one whole page with story sentences. Try to include the main character, what he desires, and what he must go against. Pick the sentence or sentences that contain a character are very interested by, you should be able to see this person in your head. Rewrite the sentence involving this character with five different desires and five different conflicts. Pick the one you are most interested in, the one that is the clearest, and the one with the highest stakes. Hopefully one sentence fits all three of these criteria. If not, edit it until it does. Keep the other sentences, find at least one that could make a good subplot. Find some books or short stories in the genre of interest and start reading.

Take a New Route

You don't have to go far to discover somewhere new
You may or may not know your way around the place that you live, but in either case there is almost always more to find out. If you always take the freeway, you may be missing the inspiration of a really unique house on the corner, or the perfect writing place in the form of a park, or maybe just a surprisingly faster route to wherever it is you're going. So explore the side streets, and if you're brave enough, even the alleyways, the windy roads through the forests, and any other new routes that you haven't tried before. When you do, don't be afraid to drive a bit slow, or even pull over (it helps if you're not in a rush) and actually pay attention to your surroundings. You can plan the routes out ahead using the ever handy internet, or go at random without fear (but be sure to have your cell phone, gps, or at least and old fashioned map with you in this case)! And even though you're not going far from home, you are still having the mentality of a traveler and getting out to see new places. That's what  it's all about.

Designate a Writing Place

It must be a place with the right environment for you, and ideally a place where you never go unless you go to write...


As a busy person I always think I'll just write at home, but the fact of the matter is that I'm always more productive out of the house. I just moved to a new city, and thus far haven't discovered any places as peaceful and inspiration as the ones I left behind, but I'm always on the look out. Today I found a park not too far from my house that may serve the purpose perfectly. Right now I'm sitting at a picnic table in this fairly deserted place, with just the voices of a few kids and some far away cars. No access to the internet, no television, no family members interrupting. For me that's perfect, but everyone is different. I also enjoy a coffee shop from time to time, but only if it's just the right level of busy. I highly suggest you find a place close to home that you can walk or drive to and spend a couple hours really writing without distraction.

If you must stay home, it can also help to designate a very specific spot where the only thing you do is write. If you use the desk for other things your mind will not automatically focus on the writing each time you sit there as it does when the place is associated with only that one activity.

An old writing place.